Price
by me 4evaful
Summary: 700 years before 'The Hobbit', Mirkwood is under siege. The survival of Mirkwood comes at a price. And is that price greater than they originally thought? AU
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: All recognisable characters and locations are property of their respective owners.

Prologue

Mirkwood was under siege. The Necromancer had stormed the city, bringing with him countless numbers of forces. After slowly taking the forest, bit by bit, the shadow behind the mountains of Mirkwood decided that he was, quite frankly, bored. And the result was that a vicious assault was led against the Elvenking, Thranduil.

The two sons of the king, Ithilas and Legolas, were leading a group of elves through the trees to an ambush against the Necromancer's forces. Rumour had it that the Necromancer was bringing in a dragon, and that had to be avoided at all costs. Ithilas, the older of the two, was in charge, and Legolas was fine with this. What he was not fine with, however, was the fact that Legolas' mortal enemy, Aniriul, was to accompany them.

Legolas and Aniriul had spent most of the way there bickering, something which had only ended when Ithilas had threatened to throw his brother out of the tree if he didn't "shut his unholy gob." So Legolas and Aniriul had both stopped talking.

Ithilas was busy deciding how best to get from one tree to the next when he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Legolas gesturing to the ground.

"Look down!" his brother mouthed.

Ithilas looked down and saw a large group of orcs walking towards them, making no small amount of noise as they did so.

"... Did you see those ridiculous faces as their 'spy' told them that we were bringing a _dragon!_" The orcs laughed loudly and derisively. "As if our master would ever be _bothered_ to get a dragon! Idiots!" More laughter.

Ithilas' face fell as he realised the significance of these words. They had been set up, and they had been led into a trap. And, judging by the look on Legolas' face, he was not the only person to have realised this.

"We have to get back," Ithilas mouthed to the elves. "Now!"

One by one, the elves started moving stealthily along the trees. But Aniriul had other ideas. Bending his bow and fitting an arrow, he aimed at the leader of the orcs.

"NO!" hissed Ithilas, but it was too late. With a sharp snap, the arrow sailed through the air, landing with a soft thud in the back of the leader. An eerie silence fell over the clearing.

"You just gave away our position!" snarled Legolas.

"Move! Now!" Ithilas tried to get them out of there before the orcs started shooting back. There would be time for berating later. Hopefully...

Suddenly two arrows sailed into the trees. One slammed into the tree trunk, the other hit Legolas on the shoulder. Legolas let out a soft hiss of pain, but it was enough. More arrows started flying into the trees, and the elves, even outnumbered as they were, had no choice but to fight. The group of approximately twenty elves leapt down from the trees, drawing knives with them as they went. Metal clashed with metal as the orcs tried viciously to kill this small part of the opposition. Some were killed, including Ithilas' best friend Sariodh, and several more were badly injured, including Aniriul. Soon it was just Legolas and Ithilas fighting back to back. Or more accurately, standing back to back with their swords drawn, while the orcs encircled them.

"Are you all right?" asked Ithilas quietly.

"I've been worse," responded Legolas, his voice matching his brother's. "But then again, I've been better too."

"Well well well!" one of the larger orcs approached them. "Look what we have here, boys! The two elvish princes!" The orcs laughed.

"Do we kill 'em?" asked one of the other orcs. "I ain't tasted elf flesh in ages!"

The new leader spared his somewhat dim companion one look of distain before returning his stare to the princes. "No, we don't. They're perfect for what the master has in store."

With that, the orcs simultaneously rushed towards the elves. The two brothers may have been formidable fighters, but there were approximately fifty orcs against two elves, one of whom was already injured. It didn't take the orcs long to subdue them.

* * *

><p>Thranduil was pacing so much that it made those watching him dizzy. Amongst those who were watching him were Queen Rolena, Legolas' love Isiris, and the royal family's only other child, Ithilas' and Legolas' sister Era.<p>

"Where are they?" snapped the king, as a loud crash echoed around them.

"Ada, I'm sure they will be fine," Era tried hard to console the restless king, but it wasn't easy when the city was being fired upon from all sides and her two brothers were on an insanely risky mission. The simple fact of the matter was that Legolas was probably the best captain that Mirkwood's army had ever seen, and with him and the crown prince gone, the place was at a loss, leaving the city open to the Valar knew what. And unfortunately, the Necromancer had seized that opening with both hands. And now the city was in ruins.

Suddenly, all the noise stopped. The screams in the streets fell silent. The bloodshed in the streets ceased. Thranduil led the way to the balcony, and they saw all the orcs withdrawing from the city. They watched as a small group of orcs escorted the Necromancer to the gates, before stopping.

_They want me to go down to them_, Thranduil realised.

It wasn't long before the Elvenking was facing the Necromancer. The Necromancer was clad in black, with a long black cloak hanging from his shoulders, and a hood that shielded his face from view.

"Well?" Thranduil asked. "What do you want?"

"I want the fighting to stop."

Thranduil laughed bitterly. "Yes, you want the fighting to stop, _when you have control over Mirkwood!_" The Elvenking spat out these last six words.

"No," the Necromancer whispered, unperturbed by Thranduil's harsh response. "I want Mirkwood, but I will settle for a much smaller price."

Thranduil raised his eyebrows sceptically.

"I will lift the siege on Mirkwood," the Necromancer said while gesturing to the orcs. "For the price of one of your sons."

The orcs brought forward Ithilas and Legolas at knifepoint. They were both badly cut and bruised, as if they had ended up on the wrong end of a street brawl, and Legolas had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

"So the choice is yours." The Necromancer's voice had something in it that sounded like amusement. "Which son is going to be the price of Mirkwood?"

"Neither!" growled Thranduil. "I choose neither!"

"Oh?" The Necromancer wandered over to Ithilas, and took the knife from the orc holding him. "So you'd like me to kill both of them, then?"

"I- What do you mean?"

"Well, it's simple. Choose one of your sons to save, or both will die, and the siege will continue."

"What? _No!_"

The Necromancer nodded to the orc holding Legolas, who smiled, before seizing the arrow and twisting it. Legolas yelled out in agony, drowning out the pleas made by his brother and father to stop.

"So which will it be?" The Necromancer asked finally. "Will I take him?" He nodded towards Legolas, who had gone limp. "Or will I take young Ithilas here?" The Necromancer pressed the knife against the crown prince's throat, forming a dark red cut at the base of Ithilas' neck.

Both of the princes of Mirkwood fell silent. They both knew who Thranduil would save, but they didn't want to hear it from the king's own mouth.

"Legolas." The king finally spoke, and his voice cracked as he said it. "You can take Legolas."

The Necromancer smiled, before pulling the blade away from Ithilas' throat. The orc roughly hurled the crown prince onto the floor before Thranduil's feet, while another punched Legolas in the stomach. The force of the blow made Legolas double over with pain, while the Necromancer ordered for him to be dragged away.

"Don't hurt him!" yelled Ithilas from the floor. "Please!"

Thranduil couldn't bear to look at Legolas. He was too ashamed. But at the last minute, he raised his head, and met Legolas' eyes. He felt his heart break as he watched a tear roll down his son's face.

* * *

><p>Thranduil led the way back through the city, not even looking at his oldest son as he followed. When they made it back to the palace, Thranduil was immediately bombarded with questions.<p>

"Are they leaving?"

"What happened?

"Where's Legolas?"

This last question came from Isiris. Thranduil couldn't face her, he just couldn't. Just like he couldn't face Legolas.

"Ada?" Ithilas asked. "Ada, I'm sorry!"

Thranduil ignored him, walking straight towards his chambers.

"Ada?" Ithilas repeated.

"What happened?" Rolena asked her son, who brushed her off, chasing after Thranduil.

"Ada, I'm sorry for what happened, but will you please talk to me?"

Thranduil once again ignored him, opening the door to his chambers, entering, and slamming it in his son's face.

"_Ada!_"

"What happened?" asked Era, approaching Ithilas somewhat frustratedly. "Why is Ada not talking to you? Where's the rest of your patrol? Where's Legolas?"

Ithilas lowered his eyes to the ground.

"It has something to do with Legolas, hasn't it?" When Ithilas didn't respond, Era pressed him. "_Hasn't it?_"

Ithilas looked at her, his eyes empty of all emotion except grief.

"Ithilas," Era asked, scared by the look in her brother's eyes. "Where is Legolas?"

"He's gone," Ithilas whispered. Era shook her head, trying to deny it. Ithilas pulled her into a tight hug. "The Necromancer took him. He's gone."


	2. Part 1 Chapter 1: Nine

**- Part 1 -**

Chapter 1 – Nine

_750 years later..._

The Elvenking was bored.

Sitting in another one of those unholy meetings which he had to attend to make it look like he ruled the country, but his bloody pen-pushing bureaucratic advisors decided what needed to be done, and effectively usurping his position, was not the way he wanted to spend a sunny afternoon in May.

_Bored, bored, bored._

"...And yet _if_ we allow Lake-Town to use the river as a trading path, then we lose one of the best defences this city has to offer."

"But we open up a whole network of diplomatic relations with them!"

_Really bored, really bored, really bored._

"Yes, but at what price? If you recall what happened the last time Mirkwood came under siege-"

The room full of advisors fell very suddenly silent. There was an unwritten rule in Mirkwood that nobody was to mention that event. Nobody was to mention the capture of the younger prince, when said prince had barely been out of adolescence. Nobody in Mirkwood save Ithilas and Thranduil knew what exactly had happened in that meeting, but they never forgot it. And neither of them spoke about it. All everybody else knew was that Prince Legolas had been captured and taken away by the Necromancer. Everyone presumed he was dead.

However, not listening did have its benefits. He hadn't exactly registered that the topic of his dead son had come up, and when everyone looked at him, he merely waved his hand as a gesture for the somewhat flustered advisor to carry on. Aniriul, who had recovered from his injuries but still bore the scars from his last fight and had since become an advisor, smirked.

Thranduil watched as his advisors ruled the country, not letting him get a word in edgeways, even if he wanted to. In his head he privately called the way the country was run 'legal treason.'

_Unbelievably bored, unbelievably bored, unbelievably bored._

Truth be told, nothing interesting had happened in Mirkwood since the arrival of those dwarves fifty years ago and the whole mess involving the Arkenstone and Smaug's fortune. Oh, what Thranduil would give for something like that to happen again.

_Something interrupt this._

"I still think that..." Blah blah blah, something boring involving why the river should be used by Lake-Town's people to race down or something similar.

_Please, let something get me out of this._

"But if you remember..." Blah blah blah, something boring involving why the river _shouldn't_ be used by Lake-Town's people to race down or something similar.

_Something, anything..._

"Aniriul, what do you think?"

_Anything at all..._

Suddenly, the door opened and in came Ithilas, panting. Thranduil, unable to believe his luck, sat up and listened more attentively than he had this entire meeting.

Pant - Pant - "Sorry," - Pant - "But bad news."- Pant - "The Nine have crossed into our borders."

_...Except that._


	3. Part 1 Chapter 2: Land of Shadow

Chapter 2 – Land of Shadow

_A week earlier..._

The elf winced as the spiked chain slammed against his back again. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He had endured seven hundred and fifty years of this, and each second was agony.

He had given up hope a long time ago. For the first year of his imprisonment, he had begged repeatedly for his father. He had called out his name repeatedly, praying that his father would hear him, and come when he called, like he had done so a million times before. Like he promised he would always do. Oh, how he had changed from the naive little elf who his father had sold as a price for his city's safety.

_Legolas..._ He had almost forgotten that name. Nobody ever called him by any name except 'scum,' and that was what they called everyone around here.

The chain slammed into his back again, and he grimaced. He was being forced to work, to do slave labour for Sauron. For that was who the Necromancer was: Sauron, the enemy of old. The one who had murdered his grandfather. And now Legolas was forced to do his bidding. Or else this would happen.

For a while, Legolas had tried his hardest to defy the orcs that repeatedly hurt him, but he had learnt something soon enough: pride gets you nowhere in Mordor. For the sake of an easy life, he had swallowed his pride and started working for the smiths. He didn't care anymore, he cared nothing for his father who had so willingly abandoned him. It didn't make a difference to him who he worked for, just provided that his life was easy. Well, easy enough so that he could live. But every so often his tongue would run riot, and he insulted all the orcs who he worked for. Which was how he managed to get into this situation.

His back was a bloody mess – years of repeatedly hitting him with a chain had left him as a wreck of his former self. When he was younger, when the orcs had hit him he used to cry out, but seven and a half centuries of this had toughened him up. While it still hurt just as much as it did the first time, it didn't seem as bad. He didn't cry out anymore. He was stronger than that.

And yet... when the chain slammed into his back for a final time and he was thrown into the ground, he did not immediately get up. Normally he did, instantly getting to his feet and pulling the rag of his shirt back on, but this time he just stayed down. He hadn't done that in a long time. Valar forbid that he was going _soft_.

Eventually, however, he got to his feet. Pulling on his wreck of a shirt, he calmly got to his feet and started to walk. He was sick of it here. He was sick of the way that he was constantly reminded of what his father had done to him. He had to get out. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he knew one thing.

Anywhere was better than here.


	4. Part 1 Chapter 3: Escape

Chapter 3 – Escape

One of the things that had made Legolas stand out as such an extraordinary leader was that he was a cunning strategist. Even from a young age he managed to make his father look like an idiot by pointing out complex manoeuvres that could lead to winning a battle with a tone that made it sound like he was pointing out that a hat that somebody was looking for was on that person's head. And so as soon as Legolas had come of age, the king had ordered for him to be put in charge of the army. And now Legolas was going to need all of that skill if he was going to make it out of Mordor alive.

That evening, he wandered towards the stables. Sauron had, over the years, been stealing horses from Rohan, and one of Legolas' many duties was to see that the horses were properly fed so that they didn't starve. After all, these were to be the steeds of the Nazgûl.

Legolas ran his fingers through his brutally short hair. Sauron had tried his hardest to humiliate the disgraced prince, and cutting off his white-blonde hair was one of the first steps. The orcs had tried their hardest to keep his hair as short as possible so as to prolong his suffering. Legolas felt that their time would be better spent actually doing some work around here for a change, and that was what had started the argument that led to them taking out their favourite toy and slicing open Legolas' back.

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked one of the orcs. It was the same orc who had tried to cut his hair, and Legolas was not pleased to see him.

"I'm just going to check that the horses have been fed," lied Legolas easily. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence – Legolas usually went to check that the horses at the very least were shown a bit of kindness.

"Well, I've just come from there. And they have been fed. I was the one to feed them."

"Ah but did you feed them enough?"

"Whaddaya mean, enough?"

"Ok, I'm going to try and keep this simple, because I know that you're a bit thick. You see, if a horse isn't fed enough, then it cannot run as fast as usual, because it doesn't get enough energy into its bloodstream. And if it doesn't have enough energy in its bloodstream, then it will fall over and whoever is riding the horse at the time will fall off. Now seeing as how the Witch-King is going to be riding one of these horses, then the horse falling over will mean that the Witch-King will not be happy at all. And so he's going to look for somebody to blame. And he trusts me to feed the horses enough, and so he won't turn his anger on me. You, however... he doesn't trust so much when it comes to feeding animals. You tend to take food and eat all of it yourself, leaving next to none for anybody else. Don't look at me like that, you know it's true. And so who will he turn his ire on? You. And I don't imagine your life expectancy would be very long when the Witch-King is mad at you. Ergo, if you want to live, it would be in your best interests to let me check on the horses and check that they've been fed enough. So would you please let me do that?"

Legolas said all this very quickly, and so he dodged around the orc while said orc was busy processing Legolas' spiel and trying to find any holes in his logic. And so Legolas continued up the hill towards the small structure that housed twenty horses.

Unfortunately, somebody was already in the stables. Indeed, none other than one of Sauron's faithful lieutenants and key facial features, the mouth of Sauron. Legolas repressed a dire urge to roll his eyes. He and "Mouthy" didn't exactly get on. Having publicly humiliated the Mouth of Sauron upon their first meeting, it wasn't exactly surprising that the only way that this facial feature could come up with of regaining face was to punch the ex-prince's lights out. It might have worked, but for the fact that Legolas' motto was 'push me and I'll push back.' So when "Mouthy" tried to punch him, Legolas intercepted and broke the Mouth's wrist. And so now, every time they met, they always participated in verbal sparring until one of them snapped. This verbal sparring always promised to be a good show for anybody watching.

"Oh great... Hey Mouthy!"

The Mouth of Sauron looked around at the sound of that voice and that loathsome nickname.

"Hey there, Princie-boy." In response to Legolas' creation of "Mouthy, the Mouth had come up with his own nickname for Legolas. His was somewhat more imaginative than "Mouthy" and also much more likely to sting. Legolas hated his ancestry by now.

With a soft tut, Legolas moved over to talk to one of the horses. But before he could get there, the Mouth spoke again.

"So where's your darling father then?"

Legolas bit his tongue to prevent his retort from slipping out. One of the Mouth's favourite taunts was to wind Legolas up about how he cried out for his father when he was younger.

"When's he coming to rescue his son?"

Legolas bit down harder on his tongue.

"Or has he forgotten about you?"

A soft feral growl escaped Legolas' throat.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he has. I mean, he valued his city more than you. He loved your brother far more than you."

"What would you know about my father?" Legolas snarled finally.

"I know that he sold you."

"And he had a perfectly good reason to."

"Get this into your head, Legolas. He left you to die. He's forgotten all about you. He never loved you as much as your brother. He never saw you as anything but a lesser version of your brother. And he never will."

"You shut your mouth!"

"There was no contest between you and Ithilas. He's glad that you're 'dead'!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

Legolas had spun around and had the Mouth pinned against the wall by his neck. Suddenly a plan began to form in his mind.

He grabbed one of the ropes that was hanging from a hook, and tying the Mouth up in a very intricate way, he hung his enemy from the ceiling by his ankles. He then took the Mouth's sword before letting one of the horses out. He had formed a very strong bond with this horse, which was key to his plan. The horse shot out of the stables, and out of sight.

One of the orcs came in to investigate the wild horse, and seeing the Mouth hanging from the ceiling and Legolas leaning on the door of that particular stall with a sword in his hand was enough for him to shout. Legolas cursed under his breath before running the sword through the orc's throat. Tucking the Mouth's sword into his belt he ran out of the stables and back down the hill, cutting down any orc that got in his way.

He finally reached the smiths, and, ignoring the questions from the other prisoners grabbed his jacket and cloak from the back of his chair. Then, leaving behind several confused prisoners, ran towards the black gate without a word, pulling on his jacket and cloak as he ran.

He ran up the stairs that ran behind the gate, and as he reached the top he came face to face with none other than the orc in charge at the top of the gates.

"Ah."

"Would you care to explain what you're doing up here?"

"Erm... Not really, no."

A shout came from the bottom of the stairs. "Stop him, he's trying to escape!"

Legolas kicked the orc before the orc could punch him. Jumping over it while it was lying on the floor, he ran towards the opposite side of the gate, climbing onto the parapet and trying to find a way to climb down. When he found none, he turned back to the gate, only to find a row of spears and swords pointed at him.

"Bugger."

"There's nowhere to run, elf!" said the orc chieftain in charge of the top of the gates. "Give it up and we might be persuaded not to kill you."

"You know what, I don't think I will," Legolas said nonchalantly, while thinking of the horse he had freed with all his might.

"Ok, you've opted for the 'we will definitely kill you' option, then."

Legolas smiled as he straightened up, spread his arms wide and leant back.

His body spun until he was effectively in a standing position. He was terrified that his plan might not work.

But a whinny told him otherwise. With a soft thud, he landed (albeit painfully) on a horse's back – the same horse he had freed from the stables. He rode away as fast as possible.

He could hear the shouts from behind him, at the top of the gate. He could hear the orc chieftain yelling orders.

"Shoot him! For Sauron's sake, SHOOT HIM!"

But while arrows sailed through the air, only one of them found their target in the elf, hitting him in the shoulder. With a grim sense of satisfaction, mingled with a feeling of elation and a light-headedness as he finally realised he was free, he used his uninjured arm to give the orcs a two fingered salute as he rode off.


	5. Part 1 Chapter 4: Home

Chapter 4 – Home

Thranduil followed Ithilas out of the hall, leaving behind a chaotic argument of panic-fuelled screaming over what to do. As they got out and the door shut behind them, Thranduil spoke.

"Thank you _so_ much for getting me out of that _diabolically boring_ meeting," Thranduil said sincerely. "But next time you do, do you mind getting me out with an excuse that's a little less..."

"A little less what?" Ithilas asked, looking extremely confused.

"You know... crisis-y..."

"Crisis-y?"

"Yeah, you know what I mean?"

"Completely," Ithilas replied, in a tone that indicated anything but.

Era suddenly appeared by their sides, took one look at Ithilas, before pulling him into a tight hug. "Is it true?" she asked frantically. "Is it true, what they're saying? Are the Nazgûl really inside our realm?"

Ithilas nodded.

"What are we going to do?" wailed Era.

"We can't let them go unchallenged for long." Ithilas looked at his father. "We just can't allow that."

Thranduil nodded slowly, before he realised what his son was implying. "NO! No, you can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because you are the crown prince of this realm. You would be killed, for certain!"

Era chose that moment to bow out quietly, slipping into the conference hall, where chaos had erupted, and tried to restore order.

"Why does the fact that I'm the crown prince affect my fighting ability?"

"That was not my point! My point is that you are far too important to die! Why do you think I saved you and not your brother-"

His voice broke as he realised what he had just said. Ithilas stared at him in shock. It was the first time either of them had spoken about that day since it had happened.

"Ada, are you all right?" Ithilas asked, noticing the tears that had formed in his father's eyes.

"I can't stand the thought of losing you. Not after Legolas."

"Do you think there's any chance at all? That he's still alive?"

Thranduil pulled his son into a tight hug. "I don't know. I just... I just don't know..."

* * *

><p>Eventually, however, Ithilas had managed to persuade his father to let him go out. Mirkwood couldn't allow the Nine to ride openly through their forest, and so Ithilas was leading a crack team of elves to tell them to get out.<p>

Fortunately, somebody else in the forest was also trying to get them out.

Ithilas rode calmly into the forest, followed closely by his group of thirty elves. He had only wanted to take ten, but Thranduil was never going to let him have it all his own way.

It wasn't long before they came face to face with one of the Nazgûl. Not that anyone was particularly happy about it. Ithilas knew that they harboured hopes that they had left.

Ithilas rode up to the creature. "Leave Mirkwood now."

The Nazgûl laughed. "Why should we? What incentive have you given us to leave?"

"Well, your options are either to leave or we kill you."

"Well, we aren't leaving. We've managed to lose something in your forest and we aren't leaving without it."

"What have you lost?" Ithilas was determined that it should never be found.

"That would be me," came a voice from behind them.

Before anyone could register what it was, a streak of black shot out from the side, smashing into the Nazgûl's horse, knocking it down. However, the streak stayed upright, but slowed down and they saw it was a hooded rider on a black horse.

"Run!" yelled the rider, before the horse shot off.

The Nazgûl got to its feet and chased after the rider. Ithilas started to ride after the two, before turning around when he noticed nobody was following.

"Well what are you just standing there for?" he yelled. "After them!"

And so the chase began. Leading the way was the mysterious rider, followed by the Nazgûl, who was soon joined by the rest of the nine, followed by the group of thirty-one elves.

Ithilas rode fast, trying to keep the Nazgûl in sight. He noticed that the mysterious rider was leading the Nazgûl around paths that even Ithilas didn't know. Clearly this rider knew Mirkwood well. Ithilas was just as keen as the Nazgûl to find the rider. However, when the rider vanished by the river, the Nazgûl were at a loss.

"Which way did he go?"

Suddenly, they heard a whinny behind them, and Ithilas and his mini-army descended to the banks of the river. Ithilas noted that it was a particularly fast-flowing part of the river.

"Give it up." Ithilas smiled at the Nazgûl. "He's gone. He's given us all the slip. You may as well get out now."

"Do you even know who he is?" their leader shot back.

"No, why would I?"

"He's your-"

The rider's horse leapt over the elves, who instinctively ducked, before landing squarely on the Witch-King's horse. The Witch-King toppled back into the river, landing with a splash and ending up half-drowned as the sleeping charm upon it took effect. Suddenly the rider swung down from a branch above them, catching a second Nazgûl in the chest. In a move very like its master's, it fell back into the river, following the fast-disappearing form of the Witch-King. One of the horses reared up, sending its master onto the floor, where the mystery rider kicked it into the river. This sparked two of the horses to bolt, shooting off away from the river and out of Mirkwood's borders. The rider spun around and slammed his sword into one of the remaining Nazgûl's chest. Ithilas was finally sparked to help. Riding forward, he caught the cloak of one of them and pulled it off. Surprisingly, this did a lot of good, rendering the Nazgûl formless. The cloak disintegrated in Ithilas' hand. It wasn't long before the other two had been disposed of.

Finally, the rider held out his hand and his horse came trotting over. Ithilas nodded to two of the party, who laid a hand on each of his shoulders. The rider made a noise of indignity, and started protesting.

"Hey, what the- what are you doing? Get off me!"

The rider finally faced Ithilas, and Ithilas couldn't believe it as he recognised the face. True, he had aged somewhat since he had last seen him, and had a nasty cut across his cheek, and the eyes had a fire and a fury that Ithilas had never seen before, but there was no mistaking him.

The rider was Legolas.


	6. Part 1 Chapter 5: What You Should Know

Chapter 5 – Something You Should Know

Ithilas dismounted, staring at his brother with wide eyes. "I can't believe it... I just can't believe it... You're alive, _you're alive!_"

With that, he pulled Legolas into the tightest hug he had ever felt in his life. Legolas winced as he felt Ithilas apply pressure onto the wound he had sustained when he had been shot. He had removed the arrow, true, but it still hurt.

Ithilas finally released him. "But... how?"

Several of the other elves had dismounted now, recognising the mystery rider. The two elves who had been holding him let him go, staring at him in wonder. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn when he was captured, but the clothes were now filthy, caked in dirt and dried blood. One of the soldiers noticed the arrow wound.

"You really should get that looked at," the elf muttered.

* * *

><p>And so the party headed back, and Ithilas spent most of the ride questioning his brother. Legolas, however, was very apt at fending off questions.<p>

"Seriously, though, how did you _survive?_ Everyone thought you were dead!"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" snapped Legolas finally. "It happened, it's over, you can't change the past, now let's move on."

Ithilas paused, before –

"Ada will be so pleased to know you're alive."

"Ada?" Legolas echoed.

Ithilas sensed he'd said the wrong thing. Clearly Legolas was still upset. "Yes. He was torn apart by what happened to you."

"And yet he never sent anyone to help me."

"Legolas, what you have to understand is... he thought you were dead. We all did!"

"Really. You had that little faith in me?"

"Legolas, you were taken to Mordor. If we were to help you we would have had to storm the Dark Tower!"

"He promised me he would come. He promised me, when I was barely an elfling, that he would always come when I called. Well, I called for him, the Valar knows how many times! And he never came! That shows how much I meant to him!"

With that Legolas stormed off, leaving a very confused Ithilas behind.

Ithilas, however, was not one for being rejected. He cantered up to where Legolas rode, and noticed, beneath his hood, that tears were flowing thick and fast down his face.

"I'm sorry," Ithilas said, laying a hand on his brother's uninjured shoulder. "I really am."

Legolas wiped away the tears, ashamed of his moment of weakness.

For a while they rode in silence. However, they broke through the trees and Legolas gazed upon a sight he hadn't seen in a long time: the city of Mirkwood.

As the party rode through the streets, Legolas kept his eyes firmly on his horse's ears.

"Legolas?" Ithilas said quietly.

"Mm?"

"There's something you should know-"

"There you are!" came a voice. Ithilas looked straight ahead to see Aniriul striding out of the palace. Legolas calmly dismounted, while Ithilas spoke to the king's advisor.

"Mission accomplished, Aniriul."

"You got the Nazgûl out?"

"Yep. And we got somebody else back." Ithilas gestured to Legolas, who had his gaze trained on the back of Aniriul's head.

"Somebody else..." Aniriul turned to recognise Legolas. "Whoah!"

"Hello, Aniriul," Legolas said conversationally.

"Legolas... How was Mordor?"

"Lovely, thank you for asking. I can't wait to stay there again." Legolas' voice was sarcastic. "How do you think it was?"

"Yes, well, that's your fault for being an idiot enough to get captured."

"As I recall, you were the one who gave away our position!"

"And I was smart enough to get out!"

"Luck was the only thing that saved you!"

"Luck?"

"Yes, luck! Luck that you were travelling with me and Ithilas! Who do you think they would go for? The two princes of Mirkwood, or an orphaned son of an idiot blacksmith?"

"Say that again about my father!"

"Erm... guys?" Ithilas tried to defuse the argument that was unfolding in front of his eyes.

"You heard what I said." Legolas completely ignored Ithilas. "Your father was an idiot and you know it!"

"Shut up about my father!"

"Why on earth should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'll kick your head in!"

Legolas laughed. "I'd like to see you try. See how far you get!"

Aniriul threw a punch, which Legolas easily intercepted. Legolas casually bent the advisor's wrist back until he heard a crack and Aniriul yelled out in pain.

"You just broke my wrist!"

"Oh, did the nasty elf break your wrist?" Legolas said, putting on a mocking baby voice, before laughing humourlessly. "You wouldn't last a day in Mordor!"

"Well it's a good thing I'm not going to Mordor, then!"

"You would have been, if either Ithilas and I hadn't gone on that mission with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You would have been sent to Mordor without a backward glance if you had been the one to be captured!"

"What on earth are you on about?"

"He would have had to choose between a prince and an idiot!"

"Legolas!" Ithilas said warningly.

"Are you saying that I'm an idiot?" Aniriul asked.

"The fact that you need to ask _proves_ that you're an idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Er- yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Ithilas watched as his brother and the court's least popular advisor bickered like a pair of five-year-olds.

"Do you reckon we should stop them?" asked one of the soldiers.

Ithilas, amused by the argument, now that he knew his father wasn't going to be incriminated, held up a hand to stop the elf from interfering. "No, no, no, I'm interested to see how this turns out..."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am definitely not!"

"Are definitely too!"

"Am not times a million!"

"Are too times a billion-"

"ENOUGH!"

Both elves jumped about a foot into the air as they realised that the princess of Mirkwood, Era, had arrived. Ithilas looked disappointed that his entertainment had been taken away.

"Hello, Era," Legolas said calmly.

Era turned to face him. Her jaw dropped.

"It... can't... be..." Era turned and ran back towards the palace.

"Are you happy now?" Aniriul said.

"Shut it!"

The doors of the palace opened and the queen stepped out and, seeing her daughter running scared, tried to stop her. But Era just pointed back to where the group of soldiers were dismounting. Confused, Rolena wandered back to Ithilas, intending to give him the talking-to of his life.

"Care to explain why your sister has just run back inside in tears?"

Ithilas could barely contain his broad grin. "Why don't you ask him that?" Ithilas gestured towards his brother, who was currently glaring straight back and furiously mouthing numerous death-threats, only some of which he intended to keep.

"Well? What have you done to my daughter?" Rolena turned her anger onto Legolas, who stopped issuing threats of slowly roasting the crown prince over an open fire to look at his mother. Rolena's mouth fell open, before she broke into the most genuine smile anyone had seen on her face for the past millennium.

"Legolas?" she whispered. "Legolas? It's really you? Oh, Valar, it's really you!" And sobbing, she collapsed onto her younger son, clutching his neck. When she finally regained the ability to stand, she noticed that Legolas' shoulder was injured.

"Oh, green leaf, you're hurt!"

"It's not bad." Legolas broke his silence. "It's just a cut."

"If that's not bad then I don't know what is. But I can't wait to tell Thranduil!"

"Tell me what?"

Thranduil had just arrived, checking to see if his son was still all right.

"Tell me what?" he repeated. "What don't I..." His gaze fell on Legolas, and his voice trailed off as he recognised him. "...know..."

"Hello, Ada."

"Legolas?" Thranduil breathed. "Oh, Legolas, I'm so-"

"Don't!" Legolas' voice was full of venom. "Don't you _dare_ say that word!"

"But I really-"

"Save your breath. I think we both know I'm not going to forgive you."

With that, Legolas walked back to the palace.

* * *

><p>Ithilas finally entered the palace, about ten minutes after his brother. He wandered up to the library, intending to sit in the only quiet place in the palace and <em>think<em>. However, upon opening the door, he realised that there was a full-blown shouting match going on. Well, 'match' would imply there were two even sides. A more accurate description was that Era was standing at one end of the room, shouting at Legolas, who was standing at the other, and not letting the latter get a word in edgeways.

"Well you're meant to be dead!"

"Do I-"

"SHUT UP!" Era threw an ornament at Legolas, who caught it and placed it down on a table. "I have been trying to convince myself for _years_ that you were alive, and I was going to see you again, and yet, when I finally give up all hope, you show up and stand there as bold as brass! Why couldn't you have shown up a bit sooner?"

"Well, I'm sorry-"

"SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Era screamed, tears running down her face.

"Well what would you like me to do?"

"Get... OUT!" she wailed. "Just _get out!_ I don't want to see you again!"

"You don't mean that," Legolas muttered.

"I said – get – _OUT!_"

Legolas left with Ithilas. Clearly having priceless ornaments thrown at him was not his favourite pastime.

"Ithilas?" Legolas asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Where's Isiris?"

Ithilas froze. He didn't want to have to explain the situation of Isiris to Legolas. He knew that they had loved each other deeply. And that was partly the reason why it had happened.

"Legolas, there's... there's something you should know..."

As if on cue, they rounded a corner and came face to face with the elleth who they spoke of. Isiris took one look at Legolas, before dropping the glass of water she held in her hand and running to hug him.

"Where have you been?" Isiris asked, her voice a mixture of fury and happiness. "I was so worried about you!"

"Oh, you know... around..." He pulled away from her and undid from his neck the only thing he valued in Mordor more than his life. It was a small necklace, the pendant in the shape of a star, made out entirely of diamond. He gave it to her. It was the necklace she had given to him the morning of the day he had been captured. It was said that it kept the wearer safe from harm, and would always lead them back home. "I kept it, just like you asked me to. And it worked... eventually."

Isiris chuckled as she took it back. But before she could say much more, a small child came out of a room behind her, two doors down the hall.

"Nana? Nana!" he called.

Isiris suddenly looked scared, never taking her eyes off Legolas' face. "Yes, darling?"

Legolas felt shocked and betrayed. She had a child. That child couldn't be his – for starters they had never actually made love in that way, and for another, the child was far too young. He then noticed her ring finger. There were two rings there – one was clearly an engagement ring, and the other, a simple gold band, was clearly a wedding ring.

"You never got me my glass of water!" the child protested indignantly.

"I'm sorry, darling." But the child was no longer paying attention to her. His eyes had just fell upon Ithilas.

"Ada!"

"Ada?" Legolas muttered, seeing the way Ithilas interacted with the child, lifting him high into the air.

"Who are you?" the child asked Legolas.

"Legolas," Ithilas said, with the same scared expression on his face as the one on Isiris'. "This is my son, Aios."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I may have had a little bit too much fun with the argument. Sorry...**


	7. Part 1 Chapter 6: The Healer & The Thief

Chapter 6 – The Healer and the Thief

"That's not the way I would have chosen for you to find out..."

"Oh really? Then how would you have had me find out?"

"I would have told you... But Legolas, please, _wait!_"

Legolas was walking down the hall, fuming. Ithilas was trying to catch him up and explain himself to Legolas in a rational way, but Legolas wasn't having any of it. Isiris had taken Aios away.

"Why should I wait?" Legolas turned to face his brother. Ithilas caught up with him, and stood facing him.

"Would you have had me find out at all?" Legolas asked.

"No, Legolas, that's not fair!"

"Oh, that's not fair? _That's_ not fair? No, what _isn't_ fair is that even after you stole the love of my father, you then proceeded to steal the love of my fiancée!"

"No, Legolas, it wasn't like that!"

"Then, pray, what _was_ it like?"

"It just sort of... happened. You know how it is!"

"No, actually, I don't! We didn't really have much time for _courting_ while we were being tortured in Mordor!"

"Legolas, please listen to me – hang on, _we?_"

"Yes, we. There were more slaves there than just me. Now, if you'll just excuse me, I need to go and change. And I don't want my thief of a brother talking to me."

"_Legolas!_"

Legolas started walking down the corridor. Ithilas ran to catch him up and grabbed his arm.

"Look, for what it's worth, we wanted to call him Legolas."

"You wanted to name him after me?"

"Yes. We were both upset about you, we both missed you, and we thought that this was the perfect way to honour your memory. That was how we got together, actually. Bonding over a funeral..." He gave a weak chuckle, but Legolas remained silently glaring, indicating that he clearly didn't share the joke. "Look, you were missing for seven and a half centuries. Isiris was a wreck. I started to comfort her, and then I realised that being with her also helped me feel better. She was comforting me too. Then we started doing more things together, and things just... escalated. I just fell for her, and it just felt so right. So we got married. We had a child. As soon as we saw it was a boy, Isiris suggested we call him Legolas, and I agreed with her."

"So why didn't you?"

Ithilas' face darkened. "Ada."

Legolas raised both eyebrows sceptically.

"He didn't want us to call him Legolas. He said that the child would never live up to you."

Legolas laughed bitterly. "Hardly. He didn't want constant reminders of what he'd done wandering around the palace."

Ithilas joined Legolas' laughter, although it was forced. "Aye, you're probably right." Ithilas faced Legolas. "So are we ok?"

Legolas glared at Ithilas. "No."

"Legolas, I know you're mad at me, but just try to remember, it's _me_ you're mad at. No matter how angry you are, _please_ don't take it out on Aios."

"Take it out on Aios? I'm not taking it out on him. In case you hadn't noticed, I've not actually said one word to Aios. It's you I'm taking it out on."

Without another word, he opened his bedroom door and entered.

"Legolas..." Ithilas said, without much conviction. The door slammed in his face.

Thranduil rounded the corner, intending to force Legolas to listen to his apology. However, he arrived just in time to see the door slam in Ithilas' face.

"He's not talking to me," Ithilas said to Thranduil as soon as he spotted him.

"You and me both," Thranduil replied. "So go on, what did you do?"

"Isiris."

"Ah." Everything clicked into place. "I understand."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Era knocked on her brother's door. She heard a hasty scuffling inside, before...<p>

"Come in," came Legolas' voice.

Era opened the door. Legolas was standing by his bed, with his ruined shirt pulled over his shoulders and his hood pulled up. He looked considerably cleaner than he had been when he first arrived. He had clearly just had a bath.

"Hello..."

"Oh," Legolas said, visibly surprised that it was his sister. "Hello."

"I... I just wanted to say... I'm sorry."

Now Legolas was confused. "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for... you know... shouting at you..."

"It's fine. That's absolutely fine. I'm sorry for not coming home sooner. Blame the orcs, they wouldn't let me escape sooner."

Era laughed lightly.

"To be honest, I'm relieved you forgave me. Between me not talking to Ithilas and Ada, you not talking to _me,_ and Aniriul being the world's largest idiot, I was worried that the only person I would have to talk to is Naneth."

"Oh Valar," Era said mockingly. "I can't imagine what _that _must be like."

It was acknowledged amongst the siblings that Rolena treated her children like they were Aios' age. Legolas being imprisoned in Mordor would have only intensified that.

"So why are you not talking to Ada?" asked Era.

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not to me..."

"Well, after what he did that day, I thought it would be blatantly obvious. Really, you're telling me you can't put two and two together?"

"Legolas, what on earth are you on about?"

Legolas suddenly realised something.

"You don't know what he did..."

"What did he do?" Era asked, really confused now.

"He never told you."

"Never told me what? What has he done?"

"What a coward."

"Why is he a coward?"

Legolas laughed grimly, before selecting a different shirt from his closet.

"Legolas," pressed Era. "What has Ada done that has offended you _so_ much?"

"Era, get out of my room."

"No! Not until you tell me what is going on!"

"Era, get out."

"Please-"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Era looked at him, frightened. She started heading towards the door, but when she had her hand on the doorknob, she turned around.

"Naneth said you'd been injured. She asked me to take a look."

"It's nothing. I got shot in the shoulder. That's all."

"That's _all?_" Era was incredulous. There were times when the younger of her brothers would slip over in the kitchen and insist that he be dragged through every test available from healers. Although that might have had something to do with the fact that Isiris was the daughter of one of the healers, and was frequently under room arrest and Legolas could only ever see her then. Now, he actually had a serious injury, and he was ignoring it. "Legolas, let me look at it."

"Why, are you a healer?"

"Yes, actually, I am. And as of this moment, you are now my patient. Now let me look at your shoulder."

Legolas sighed reluctantly, before turning around.

"That's really helpful. I'm not going to heal your cloak."

He reluctantly pulled off his cloak. Era took one look at his short hair, before bursting into laughter.

"Short hair really does not suit you!"

While elvish hair initially grows a lot faster than human hair, Legolas had only had a week to grow it. As a result, it only reached down to the bottom of his neck.

"I know. I can't wait for it to grow back again."

"Now let me look at that shoulder."

Legolas reluctantly pulled off his shirt and turned his back towards Era, who gasped.

Legolas' back was red. There was a very thin layer of skin stretched over his back, that was broken by long scars, scabs, and in some cases, cuts that were still bleeding. The orcs had hit him with the same rusty chain so many times that they had stripped all the skin from his back, and had barely allowed it to heal. Era winced.

"Oh, brother, what has happened to you?"

"It's nothing," Legolas muttered, embarrassed. "There were some who had much worse."

"Legolas, that is _not_ nothing!" Era paused. "Lie down."

"What?"

"You heard me. I said lie down."

Legolas rolled his eyes. "Hypothetically, if I were to say no, what would you do?"

"I would call Naneth in here, and ask her to _make_ you lie down."

Legolas collapsed onto the bed.

"I thought as much," Era said, smiling to herself.

"Whatever you do," Legolas pleaded. "Please don't tell Naneth."

"Why shouldn't I? What's in it for me if I don't?"

"I'll be eternally in your debt. I'll do anything for you. I'll... I'll..."

"Tell you what," Era said. "I won't tell Naneth, but while I'm healing you, you have to do whatever I say."

"I cannot believe I'm saying this... but deal."

"Good. Now lie down and stay still."


	8. Part 1 Chapter 7: The Unwelcome Truth

Chapter 7 – The Unwelcome Truth

Legolas was sitting in the conference hall, and every eye was on him, each eye unwelcome. Even his own eyes were fixed firmly on his hands. True, it had been his idea to summon this council, but he was regretting it now. The king and all the advisors were in the conference hall, listening to the middle child of Thranduil tell his story.

"So it's true?" one of the advisors, Elleredh, who Legolas had been close to, finally interrupted. "Our old enemy is still alive?"

"He had been alive seven and a half centuries ago, which you would have processed if you had been _listening,_" Legolas had more than a bite of impatience in his voice.

Elleredh fell back against his chair, ignoring the changed prince's attitude. "So what are we going to do? If Sauron really is behind the shadow in the south, we don't stand a chance."

"We have to inform Lord Elrond," Aniriul said, ever trying to be the voice of reason. He may have been unpopular, but he _did_ give good advice, which, if people listened to more often, would have made life much easier. "Imladris can send help. They deserve to know-"

"_Screw _Imladris!" Legolas exclaimed violently.

Every eye turned to look at him again, shocked by his sudden outburst. Some people were horrified that he could use such language, particularly in front of several very important officials. Others were confused by his hatred for the Noldor, and Thranduil was looking at his son with a mixture of disapproval and pride.

"What have they ever done for us?" Legolas continued, unperturbed by the reaction his anger was causing. "Where were they when Greenwood was sieged? Where were they when the shadow descended upon us? Where are they now? No, those Noldor _scumbags_-" (more shock) "-are too selfish to help anyone but themselves! If they _were_ to help us, they would have an ulterior motive! They don't deserve to know! For all I care, they can damn themselves to an eternity in the Halls of Waiting!"

With that, Legolas collapsed onto the table, not moving, not making a sound. Thranduil placed a tentative hand on his son's shoulder, and Legolas flinched away from him

"_Don't _touch me!" he spat. "You're just as bad as them!"

Legolas got up and stormed to the doors. "Don't you dare follow me!" he snarled, before slamming them so hard that they just bounced straight open again.

"Well..." Thranduil said, trying to recover himself after his son's tantrum. "That was interesting."

As the council set about discussing how to deal with the oncoming threat that Sauron posed, and what the Dark Lord's survival meant for Middle Earth, Elleredh turned towards Aniriul, who was shaking his head in disbelief with a smirk on his face.

"Do you think either of them is ever going to tell us what's wrong?"

* * *

><p>One of these 'Noldor scumbags,' as Legolas had so elegantly called them, was currently waiting in the throne room for an audience with the Elvenking. The twin sons of Lord Elrond had decided to go behind their father's back and propose an alliance. They didn't understand the petty feud going on between Elrond and Thranduil, and thought it stupid that they couldn't put it aside for the sake of both their realms. And so Elrohir was currently standing in the middle of an empty room while Elladan, who had drawn the short straw, had been instructed to help the escort put away the horses.<p>

Suddenly, a great crash echoed somewhere in the depths of the palace, making Elrohir jump. A hooded figure stormed into the throne room, muttering darkly, and not looking where he was going. Said figure promptly crashed into Elrohir, sending out a string of curses so violent that Elrohir was surprised that anyone but a dwarf knew them, and even more surprised that someone who knew them was wandering around the Elvenking's palace.

"Watch where you're going!" the hooded figure finally said as he straightened up and dusted himself off.

Elrohir got up himself, affronted by the nerve of this elf, immediately went on the defensive. "Sorry for standing here, minding my own business," he said sarcastically.

The hooded figure suddenly seemed sheepish. "Sorry... It's been a rough day."

"You think _you_ have had a rough day?"

"Well, I just got reunited with the scum that calls himself my father, found out that my brother married my fiancée and had a child while I was away, and now just stormed out of a conference after telling all the king's advisors who the Necromancer was. So... yes, I do think I have had a rough day."

Elrohir raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to speak when Elladan entered, half drenched.

"Sorry I'm late, _brother dearest_," Elladan said sarcastically. "But while you've been swanning around the palace, some of us have been _outside,_ in the _pouring rain,_ putting away _your horse_."

"Try spending a week in the rain, then grow up," said the hooded figure, hostility lining his voice.

"I'm sorry, and you are...?" Elladan asked, trying to be nice.

"About to tell you where you-"

"Cool it!" came a voice from the top of the stairs.

Ithilas had just appeared. Elrohir was rather pleased. He wasn't sure what to make of this stranger, but he didn't like the way he was treating everybody like they were the enemy. After all, he didn't want his brother, who was, admittedly, too naive for his own good, to get hurt.

"Why don't you go upstairs?" Ithilas muttered to the hooded figure. "I'm sure you must be-"

"Don't try pretending that you care about me," snarled the hooded figure. "If you want me to go, just say it."

"Fine," Ithilas bit back his retort. "Go away."

The hooded figure shrugged and left the room, muttering darkly. When he was out of earshot, Ithilas turned back to the twins, who looked perplexed.

"Sorry about that..."

"It's fine," Elrohir replied, trying to smile.

"Why is he like that?" Elladan asked.

"Well, do you remember my brother, Legolas?" Ithilas asked.

Elrohir merely nodded, and Elladan said: "How could we forget?"

"Well..." Ithilas paused. "That's him."


	9. Part 1 Chapter 8: Aios

Chapter 8 – Aios

"_Your father left you here to rot!"_

_He was facing the Mouth of Sauron again in the stables, only this time, he was the one hanging by his ankles from the ceiling. The harsh rope burned and scratched at his skin._

"_No..." he sobbed. "No... he didn't!"_

"_Yes, I think I did."_

_His father appeared at the door of the stables._

"_No... oh, please... no!"_

_His father walked towards him. "For all I care, you can hang here until you die."_

"_Please... help me..."_

_His father laughed, a bitter sound that broke his heart._

"_I killed you a long time ago, and I'm glad I did. You never came close to Ithilas. You're dead to me!"_

"_Ada!" he wailed._

"_You're dead to me!"_

_Laugher filled his head... It was blocking out the sound of his tears... He couldn't take it any more..._

"NO!"

With an abrupt start, Legolas woke. It was still dark, but the sky was beginning to lighten from black to a deep blue. Legolas left his room, and decided to walk around the corridors, just for the sake of it. He thought about how much had changed in the past week – nay, in the past twenty four hours. This time a week ago, he had been working in the smiths of Mordor, making crude weapons for the sake of survival. This time yesterday, he had been riding as fast as possible past Dol Guldur, being pursued by the Nazgûl. Now, he was being guarded, protected.

He rounded a corner, and promptly crashed into Aios.

"Oh, sorry!" Legolas said, noticing the child sitting on the ground. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" The child resented any indication that he might be squeamish.

"Sorry..." Legolas offered his nephew a helping hand up.

When Aios had got to his feet, he looked accusingly at Legolas. "Ada says you're my uncle."

"I imagine he does," Legolas replied, wondering where this conversation was going.

"I don't believe him."

Legolas' wondering was over. He now knew _exactly _where this conversation was going. He imagined he would have several of these soon. Not that he was going to help the boy get there soon. "And why not?"

"Well, if you're my uncle, where have you been all my life?"

"I've been away. I've been away for a very long time."

"But when I asked my Ada about whether or not I had an uncle, he always said that I had _had_ one, but he died a long time before I was born."

Legolas rolled his eyes.

"So who are you?" Aios said.

"A different one?" Legolas tried to lie to the child. It didn't work.

"Ada only said I've ever had one."

"All right," Legolas said, resigned to his fate. "Your Ada thought I was dead, because a long time ago, Greenwood was under siege, and a skirmish went very badly wrong and I was captured."

"By who?"

"The bad guys."

"Who were...?" Aios was getting impatient.

"A very, _very_ old enemy."

"That's helpful." Aios glared at Legolas.

"Never mind... Look, can we change the subject, please? I mean... why are you out of bed?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Smart, conceited, little..." Legolas' voice was almost inaudible. Almost. Aios glared at him. "Look, I couldn't sleep, alright?"

"Neither could I."

Legolas rolled his eyes again. His nephew may get on his nerves far more than somebody who was 284 years old (the elf equivalent of about 5 and a half human years) should, but he was beginning to like him. Aios did remind him a lot of himself. Legolas almost wished that Thranduil _had_ let Ithilas call him Legolas. Then he could have had his own mini-me.

"Why are you angry at everyone?" Aios asked.

"What?"

"You're angry at everyone. I want to know why."

"Err, excuse me, but I am _not_ angry at everyone!"

"Ok, name three people other than me who you're not angry at."

Legolas found himself cursing his nephew's conceitedness inside his head. "Ok, well, there's Era, and... umm... the Queen... and... and... err..."

"Can't think of a third, can you?"

"The captain of the guard!" Legolas said triumphantly. "I'm not angry with the captain of the guard!"

"What's the captain of the guard's name?"

_That little..._ Legolas thought, bringing to mind various other curses that he realised his father would be appalled he knew. "I don't know, sorry."

"Doesn't count then. So come on, why are you angry at everyone apart from me, Era and the queen?"

_Ahh, of only my world were so wonderfully simple as proving a point by asking someone's name._ "It's complicated..."

"Why are you angry at the king?"

"I'd really rather not go into that right now..."

"Why are you angry at Ada then?"

Legolas paused.

"It's a long story..." Which basically meant to him that he really didn't want to talk about it.

Unfortunately, that wasn't what it meant to his nephew. "I have time. Nana doesn't know I'm up."

"She really should, you know. She'll be furious if she found out."

"Ah, but who's to say that she'll find out."

"Oh, you never know, I might tell her," Legolas said, only half teasing.

"You wouldn't dare!" snapped Aios.

"I am _very_ daring," Legolas said. Then he paused, looking thoughtful. "But I'm not _that _daring. If Nana found out that I'd been keeping you up, then my neck would be on the line as well. So I won't tell if you don't tell. Deal?"

Aios thought about it for a second. "Deal."

Legolas glanced at the window. It was much lighter now, and he suspected that the cook was probably up. If not, he had learnt how to pick a lock a long time ago, and he imagined it would be quite easy to raid the kitchens.

"Are you hungry?" Legolas asked, somewhat needlessly. About half way through the sentence Aios' stomach had rumbled loudly.

"Absolutely starving," replied Aios.

"Come on then," muttered Legolas. "Let's go and find breakfast."


	10. Part 1 Chapter 9: Party

Chapter 9 – Party

_Two days later…_

"I'm sorry?" Legolas couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"A _party_," Ithilas responded, completely unabashed by his brother's reluctance. "You know, when a group of people get together and-"

"Yes, I know what a party is!" snapped Legolas. "Seriously?"

"Yes. A party. Tonight. In the palace."

"_Tonight?_"

"No, when you've sailed, spent a few centuries in Valinor before convincing the Valar to let you come home again." Ithilas said sarcastically. "_Of course tonight!_"

"Why?"

"Take a wild stab in the dark."

"Oh, trust me, if you're serious, that is _exactly_ what I'll be doing tonight in your bedroom."

"To celebrate your return!" Ithilas said exasperatedly.

There was a pause, before –

"You have _got_ to be joking."

"Trust me, for the next three or four days, that's all anybody is going to be doing," Ithilas smiled. "We've have precious little reason to celebrate for decades. And now, presented to us is an impossibly happy event, with no deaths or tragedies to mar the occasion, as is what usually happens."

"Ok, that's fair enough. But why does that mean that _we_ have to join in?"

"Because you know what Ada and Naneth are like. Mention the word 'party' near them and we'll be ordering an entire new stock of wine in the next few hours. Trust me, there's no way you can dissuade them. Isiris has already tried."

"I'm no Isiris," Legolas muttered.

"True," laughed Ithilas. "But as I recall, the last time you tried your hand at diplomacy, you nearly started a war with a country that had previously been our ally."

"Oh yes…" Legolas muttered. "Gondor never really forgave us for that, did they?"

"I think calling the steward the biggest idiotic swine you had ever had the misfortune to meet was a big mistake. Anyway, getting back to this party, it would be a better use of your time talking to Mandos and asking if there's any way whatsoever that he could get Oropher into his halls. At least with that, you actually have a chance of success."

"So this was their idea, not yours?"

"Are you serious? Would I ever have an idea that involved depleting our private stocks of wine doing anything but drinking it myself?"

"I see your point."

"Anyway, go and get dressed! You can't expect to show up with your hood on and still in the shirt that you sleep in! Naneth would die of shame!"

Legolas rolled his eyes. If there was one thing that he really did not want, it was a party to celebrate the fact that the king's monumental screw-up was not quite such a big screw-up as originally thought. However, he also knew that there would be Sauron to pay if he decided not to show up.

"I am not leaving the hood," Legolas said obstinately. "But I may be persuaded to put on a nicer one."

"Why do you insist on wearing a hood wherever you go?"

"Ask Era."

"I'm asking _you_, Legolas!"

"Fine!" snapped Legolas, and pulled down the hood. His hair, which had two days previously tickled the base of his neck, now brushed his shoulder blades.

"They cut your hair?" Ithilas' tone was one of disbelieving anger.

Legolas nodded mutely.

"Well, it doesn't look _too_ bad, I suppose…"

"Spare me the lecture," muttered Legolas, pulling his hood back up. "It'll grow back within a week."

"I swear to the Valar, I'll _kill_ them!" Ithilas suddenly exclaimed. "Nobody humiliates my little brother like that!"

Legolas began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ithilas asked, confused.

"You!" Legolas didn't hesitate, or even flinch. "You don't mind them keeping me prisoner for seven and a half centuries, but you _do_ mind that they cut my hair! Your priorities are _messed up!_"

And just like that, the mood lightened. Ithilas began to laugh, and it took the pair a while to calm down.

"So you'll come, then?" Ithilas finally asked.

"Yes, all right, I'll come!" snapped Legolas. "If only to save me from the wrath of Naneth."

Ithilas started laughing again, although this time mostly out of relief. "Good," he said. "It's been a while since we've had a party which hasn't been marred by death. It'll be nice to have a celebration without any drastic consequences for once."

He went away, mainly to change, leaving Legolas standing in a hallway on his own.

"Yes, it will be a celebration," Legolas muttered quietly to himself. "But trust me, brother, there _will_ be some drastic consequences."

* * *

><p>In the end, Legolas decided not to wear a hood at all, and very few people actually cared that his hair was a lot shorter than it was. Admittedly, Aniriul spent most of dinner commenting on how ridiculous it looked, but Era (who was sitting next to him) grabbed his wrist and dug her nails into the advisor's pulse point, and he promptly fell silent.<p>

The product of dinner was that most of the guests got very drunk very quickly, and, after toasting a blushing Legolas four times, halved the royal family's wine stocks within half an hour.

Soon, people started toasting the royal family, Mirkwood, wine, the makers of the wine, the servants carrying the wine, the servants in general, (the toasts became steadily less serious with every glass consumed,) the Valar, and then everything from the sun to the king of Rohan, to random dwarf in Erebor who made bread. By this point, the guests were so drunk that they weren't even sure what they were saying, let alone what they were drinking to, and had long since stopped paying attention.

The only person who stayed sober was Ithilas. It had taken a lot of self-restraint, but he was determined to prevent the rest of his family from doing anything they might regret later. Usually it was Era who stayed sober, but after Ithilas had seen her down her entire glass with the first toast, he realized that this wasn't going to happen. Ithilas knew that _someone_ had to stay sober or else there would be a repeat of the return from the Battle of the Five Armies when Thranduil had spent most of the night kissing a young maiden, believing her to be Rolena. It had nearly led to the end of their marriage. Nearly.

Eventually, however, everybody got up to dance. However the very drunk guests were able to walk, let alone dance, was a mystery. But in fairness, Ithilas reflected, it might have had something to do with the fact that the servants had run out of wine a long time ago and switched to water, while everyone was too drunk to notice.

Legolas was a lot less drunk than everyone else save Ithilas. In fact, he was the only person drinking who had noticed the sudden replacement of wine with water. It was quite amusing, watching his father go out of his mind on water. The music started playing, and Legolas sat smirking with his brother watching people swaying in time with the music, although whether it was a result of the wine or the dancing ability was debatable.

After about an hour, Thranduil decided to have a conversation with Legolas.

"You know, I missed you," Thranduil slurred, a glass of water in his hand. He placed a hand on Legolas' shoulder which was either an affectionate gesture or a way of balancing himself. "I missed you a lot while you were away."

"Of course, Ada." Legolas was uncomfortable, and was determinedly looking around for Ithilas to come and save him.

"You know, it wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault?" Anger started to flare up inside him, and a tone of disbelief crept into his voice.

"That you were captured. It wasn't my fault."

"Now I think we both know that's not true." Legolas' voice was raised slightly.

"Well, it wasn't. It was the Necromancer's fault."

"_Sauron's_," Legolas corrected snappily. By this point, a few elves close to them were starting to look at the pair.

"Well, it wasn't _my_ fault!"

"Oh no, it _was_ your fault."

"Ion…"

"No, don't you '_ion_' me!" snarled Legolas. "You are not my father! You relinquished that title when you decided that your palace was more important to you than your own son!"

Most of the party was now staring unashamedly at them. Era began to walk over to them, slightly confused, and Ithilas gestured violently to the orchestra to start playing loudly.

"Legolas, come on, that's not fair!" Thranduil said. Ithilas gave up on trying to get the orchestra to drown out the argument and came over to defuse it before anything was said that might be regretted later.

"No, what isn't _fair_ is that I had to wait _seven hundred and fifty years_ for you to come and help me – which, incidentally, you didn't – after you showed to me quite clearly that you care more about Ithilas than me!"

The orchestra stopped playing, looking at the king.

"Legolas-"

"You made a promise!" Tears started to form in his eyes. "A promise that you would always come when I called! Well, I _did_ call, and do you know what? _You never came!_"

"Legolas, that's enough!" snapped Ithilas.

"Oh, does the _precious Ithilas_ think he can boss me around? Ithilas, the one who the king chose to save?"

"What are you talking about?" Era asked, her eyes flitting between Legolas, Ithilas and Thranduil.

"Don't!" Ithilas said, but it was too late.

"He _sold _me!" Legolas yelled at his sister, pointing to Thranduil. "Mirkwood's freedom seven and a half centuries ago came at a price that the great Elvenking chose to keep secret to spare his precious reputation! That scum sold me for Mirkwood!"


	11. Part 1 Chapter 10: The Last Secret

Chapter 10 – The Last Secret

"_**You can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than one word you gave away." **__–__Arthur Miller_

There was complete and utter silence, before Era said what was on everybody's mind.

"What?"

"Legolas, I think you've had a little bit too much to drink," Ithilas said, determined to discredit him as much as possible, and if possible, remove him from the party. He began to guide his brother towards the door, before Elleredh stopped them.

"No, no, don't go. I want to hear this for myself. I want you to explain what you meant by 'he _sold_ you.'"

"Also," interjected Aniriul, "it's _Greenwood._"

"Your patriotism is admirable," Legolas said to Aniriul, smiling at him sarcastically. "It's just a pity it's bestowed upon such a deceitful ruler."

"Legolas, that's enough!" snapped Ithilas.

"You _knew_ about this?" Era turned on her oldest brother.

"I…" It wasn't in Ithilas' nature to lie, but that didn't mean he particularly wanted to tell the truth either.

"How could he _not?_" replied Legolas scathingly. "He was there when the decision was made."

"What _decision?_" asked Rolena, glaring at her husband and sons.

When Ithilas and Thranduil gave no indication of responding, Legolas started to tell the story. "When Mirkwood-"

"Greenwood!" snapped Aniriul.

"Oh, look around you! Anyone can see that there's more shadow than light! You just need to not refuse to see it and you'll understand why everyone calls it 'Mirkwood'!" Legolas glared so fiercely at Aniriul that he fell silent. "Anyway, when Mirkwood was besieged by the Necromancer, Ithilas and I were sent on a skirmish to try and eliminate a potential threat of a dragon. Unfortunately, it was a set-up and we were going to head back before we were found when _somebody…_" Legolas turned to Aniriul, "…decided it would be a good idea to attack a group of orcs which would outnumber us."

"Yes, yes, I remember!" snapped Rolena, as though she wished she didn't. "I always assumed that was where you were captured."

"Well, it was." Ithilas took up the story. "But the part that you don't know is that _both_ of us were captured. I promised Legolas that we would both get out alive or I would die trying. And I'm sorry, Legolas." He turned towards his brother, and he really looked it. "I really am sorry."

"Anyway," Thranduil broke his silence, but was determined not to make eye contact with anyone, least of all his younger son. "The Necromancer lifted the siege. I went down to negotiate with him, and he told me he would lift the siege for the price of one of my sons. I didn't believe him at first, until they were brought forward. I could see that Legolas was already wounded. The Necromancer told me that either I could save one of my sons and the siege would be lifted, or I could choose neither to save and they would both be killed, and the siege would continue. I didn't have a choice. I had to choose one to save or I would lose both my sons!"

Nobody listened to his justification. They were all too appalled that the king had willingly given up one of his children to die.

"You're despicable," spat Elleredh, finally breaking the silence.

"And you kept this from me for all this time?" asked Era incredulously to Thranduil and Ithilas.

"I'm sorry, Era," Ithilas said and tried to lay a comforting hand on his sister's arm, but she was having none of it.

"How _could_ you?" she screamed at Thranduil. "How could you _do _that? To _Legolas_?"

"Era, I-"

"NO! Don't even pretend you're sorry! I _hate _you! I never thought I'd say this, but I hate you!"

With that, she turned and fled out of the room, tears streaming down her face. As she left the room, Thranduil called after her.

"I didn't have a choice!"

Rolena was speechless. She merely walked up to her husband and slapped him hard across the face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Isiris asked Ithilas. Without waiting for an answer, she followed Era out of the room.

Meanwhile, Legolas had slipped unobtrusively out of the hall and headed straight for his room. He collapsed on his bed, waiting for the inevitable.

Sure enough, without so much as a knock, the door banged open, bounced off the wall and hit an already-very-angry Ithilas in the face as he tried to storm into the room. Employing swear words that would cause any elf other than Legolas to keel over in shock if they realized that he knew them, he finally made it into the room, and glared down at him so fiercely it was surprising that he didn't spontaneously combust.

"Why did you do that?" he shouted. "Why on earth did you do that?"

"People have the right to know the truth about their king," Legolas replied calmly, almost serenely.

"Do you know how messed up Ada was after you were captured? Do you know how damaging the guilt was to him?"

"Yes, I do, actually. I mean, the fact that I was in Mordor undergoing tortures that you couldn't even begin to imagine was just a mere technicality. I was keeping completely up to date with the family that abandoned me," Legolas said sarcastically. When Ithilas glared at him, he just smiled sweetly.

"Ada nearly went insane! The guilt tore him apart, and just the simple fact of not knowing what had happened to you practically drove him permanently out of his mind!"

"Well it can't have been permanent, because he seemed fine to me when I spoke to him the other day."

"You know what I mean! Anyway, he suffered all that in silence, not telling anyone, because he was so ashamed of what he'd done!"

"Coward," Legolas commented calmly.

"Shut it!"

"And he was right to be ashamed."

"Legolas!"

"Right, sorry."

"I was the only person who knew what he was going through, who understood why he was so upset. Eventually, he managed to pull through, on his own, without telling anyone. He became a respected ruler who had lost a son, and now you've just undone all that work! He has just spent the past quarter of an hour repeating the same five words over and over again."

Legolas remained silent, but glared at Ithilas.

"Oh, I see. You're angry at me because I was saved."

"No, I'm not." Legolas' voice was calm. "I resent the fact that you were the one that Ada chose to save, that you were the one who led a normal life, with the lady who was my fiancée at the time, that's true, but I'm not angry at you, no."

"Why not?"

"Because you didn't have a say in the matter."

"Well, Ada had to save one of us."

"Yes, and I'm angry that he chose you."

"So you wanted _me_ to undergo those tortures?"

"No! Oh, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. No, I'm angry that he didn't find a way to save both of us."

"Legolas, _I_ wouldn't have found a way to save both of us if I had been in that situation. Sauron had a knife to my throat and was twisting an arrow in your chest. I would have chosen to save one of us. Does that make you angry at me?"

"Well, no, because you didn't actually do that."

"But I _would've_ done."

"You wouldn't have been an idiot to end up in that situation in the first place."

"Yes, I would've."

Legolas fell silent.

"Just… think about who you're _really_ angry at." Ithilas left, shutting the door behind him.

Downstairs, Thranduil was sitting in his throne. The room was completely empty. He was hugging his knees into his chest, and the only sound was his voice, still repeating the same five words.

"I didn't have a choice."


	12. Part 1 Chapter 11: Reputation

Chapter 11 – Reputation

One of the many remarkable things about Mirkwood and its inhabitants is the ability, even an hour before dawn, to spread gossip. By dawn the next day, everyone knew what had happened at the party, although depending on which version you believed, Legolas had either punched Thranduil in the face and broke his nose, or emptied a bucket of water over his head, or Era had run away from home with the intention of never returning to Mirkwood. Ironically, none of the versions of the story mentioned Rolena slapping the king before storming off.

Whenever the two princes went out, Ithilas was met with hostility and Legolas was treated with pity (which he despised.) When Era walked out of the palace, people criticized her version of 'never to return,' something which she didn't understand for most of the day until one of the guards took pity on her bewilderment and chose to explain it to her. This particular guard nursed a soft spot in his heart for her despite the fact that Era could hardly remember his name.

The only good thing that came out of the royal family's ruined reputation was the fact that Legolas finally felt that he could forgive Thranduil. However, whether Thranduil could forgive Legolas remained to be seen. The king hadn't actually had a conversation with anyone since the party.

In the palace, the atmosphere was tense, to say the least. Aios was the only member of the Royal Family who was on speaking terms with everyone else. Rolena, Isiris and Era weren't talking to Thranduil or Ithilas, Ithilas wasn't talking to Legolas, and Thranduil just wasn't talking. It didn't help matters that every single person apart from Ithilas had massive hangovers, and Ithilas, who liked to drink himself into a stupor in situations like this, couldn't find any wine whatsoever in the house. Even the secret stash that he had raided from the cellar prior to the party (so he had a back-up until new wine was ordered) had gone. And so he was left with the task of ordering new stocks of wine.

Aios' conclusion: everyone had gone crazy.

In fact, only one member of his family had gone crazy. Thranduil was sitting in his study (where he had slept following Rolena chucking him out of their room) still muttering the same five words. Not that anyone noticed. The servants refused to go in and help, nobody else had any reason (or for that matter particularly wanted) to go in and talk to him, and his mutterings were so quiet that nobody could hear them.

Only Ithilas seemed concerned by his father's conspicuous absence. At breakfast, Thranduil just didn't appear, which was odd as it was normally him who spent the entire morning inflicting his worries and woes upon the rest of the family, regardless of how many times Legolas told him to be quiet.

"Has anyone seen Ada this morning?" Ithilas asked the rest of his family as they sat down to eat.

His question was met with silence and synchronized head shakes.

"Probably too ashamed to show his face," Era muttered.

This didn't quite ring true. Whenever Thranduil was ashamed of something, he was a lot more subdued than normal, but he still came down to show that he was stronger than that, and to show that regardless of his actions, he was still king. It was an unusual power complex that only really made sense to him and nobody else.

"I don't think that's it."

Legolas leant back on his chair. "Relax, Il, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's probably just really, _really_ hung over and still sleeping it off. You know what he's like."

Ithilas looked at Legolas with distain before leaving the room. He went straight up to his father's study. He knocked softly on the door.

"Ada, it's me, Ithilas. Are you ok?"

No answer.

"Can I come in?"

Still no answer.

Ithilas pressed his ear against the door, and listened hard, just so he could determine whether his father was sleeping or working.

What he heard shocked him.

Faintly, he could just distinguish a voice, repeating the same thing over and over again.

"I didn't have a choice… I didn't have a choice… I didn't have a choice… I didn't have a choice…"

Ithilas recognized this sign from the aftermath of the siege. He had hoped his father had overcome this, but clearly the previous night's events had brought it all back up again.

"Oh Legolas," he breathed. "What have you done?"


	13. Part 1 Chapter 12: Sanity

Chapter 12 – Sanity

_750 years ago, just after the siege on Mirkwood was lifted…_

Thranduil collapsed into his chair. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He could hear Ithilas tell Era just outside his door that Legolas had been taken. Tears began to fall down his face.

_This is all my fault._

He couldn't get the image of Legolas' face out of his mind as he was taken away. The pain in his eyes, the shock at his betrayal, the anger, the sadness, the resignation, it was all too much to bear. Every single muscle in his body went limp as the guilt took over. It felt like it was literally ripping him apart. He shut his eyes and let out a wail of despair.

_What have I done?_

He didn't even notice the door open, he barely registered soft arms encircling him, he couldn't hear his wife's voice as she tried to make him feel better. He was so consumed by his thoughts that he wanted nothing more than to jump out of the window, but he was so upset that he couldn't even stand. He didn't notice Rolena leave. He didn't notice anything anymore. He only noticed his thoughts, and they only played one thing.

_I'm sorry, Legolas. I'm so, so sorry._

The thing that really took control was the burning need to _know_. He didn't know if Legolas was alive or dead, only that the Necromancer had taken him. He didn't know what Legolas was going through if he was alive, both physically and mentally. He didn't know if Legolas would ever forgive him. He didn't know if he would ever see his son again. The chances were against him, but the simple fact of not knowing gave him a sliver of hope that he clung to as though his life depended on it. And that took control of his life.

_Please forgive me._

He didn't know how long he sat there for, with his eyes tightly shut. He didn't want to open them. He didn't know when he was awake and when he was asleep, it all felt the same to him. It was all plagued with the same images, that fateful moment replaying itself in his mind, a guilt-fuelled weapon designed to torture him. Then, suddenly, one day, one thing penetrated through the endless barrage of memories.

"You didn't have a choice."

And just like that, the spell was broken. He clung to those five words, an antidote to his guilt. Slowly, bit by bit, he managed to regain control of his mind, using that one line of defence to drown out his guilt, that one bit of justification to win back his sanity. He opened his eyes, and Ithilas sat on a chair in front of him. It didn't take him long to realise that it was his one remaining son who had broken through to him, who had given him the key to his sanity.

* * *

><p><em>Present…<em>

Now Ithilas watched as his father repeated the same five words over and over again. He recognized this for the self-defence mechanism that it was. He was trying to drown out his guilt that had been reawakened by the accusations that had been thrown around the night before with the only thing he had.

Only this time it didn't seem to be working.

The five words weren't strong enough this time. They couldn't work anymore, now that the guilt was attacking him from outside as well as from his own mind.

That was the point where his mind, quite literally, snapped.

He stopped caring anymore. He didn't care what anybody else thought of him. He was so ashamed of himself that if he focused only on his thoughts about himself. The pain would rip him apart. It was the same train of thought as in the aftermath of Legolas' capture, but it had intensified. It was stronger now, it drowned out all other thoughts. He didn't have the strength to try and justify it. He just wanted the pain to stop. He didn't notice Ithilas leave. He didn't care. The pain was too strong. It would surely kill him, but he couldn't wait that long.

* * *

><p>Ithilas stormed down the corridors, looking for his brother. He couldn't bear to see what his father was going through, and only Legolas had the power to stop it.<p>

Finding Legolas in the library entertaining Elladan and Elrohir, both of whom had been appalled by Thranduil's behavior, he asked for a private word. Maybe if he forced his brother to see the effects of what he had done, he would apologize to Thranduil, or at the very least let him know he was forgiven.

"Ithilas, what's going on?"

"You need to see something," Ithilas replied tersely.

"What do I need to see?"

They reached the study door. Ithilas faced Legolas, rage burning in his eyes. "You need to learn very quickly that actions have consequences."

"Oh, trust me, I learnt that a long time ago."

"Really? Well your actions last night didn't exactly show that."

"Last night was Ada's consequence for selling me out."

"Oh, really? How do you justify this?"

Ithilas pushed the door open, but it wasn't just Legolas who was shocked by what met his eyes.

Thranduil was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His body was covered with deep gashes, and there was a knife in his hand.

Ithilas ran forward, panicking. Legolas stood, speechless, at the door.

"Ada?" asked Ithilas, bending over Thranduil. "Ada, are you all right?"

No response.

"What are you just standing there for!" Ithilas screamed at his motionless brother, whose face was a mask of horror.

"I… I…" Legolas stuttered.

"Get help!"

Legolas fled the room. Ithilas cradled his father's body, and prayed to the Valar that they hadn't arrived too late.


	14. Part 1 Chapter 13: Why?

Chapter 13 – Why?

"So you don't know what happened?"

Ithilas was standing by Thranduil's bed, talking to a healer, while Legolas hovered awkwardly in the background.

"No," Ithilas told the healer. "Like I said, I went in to check up on him, he was physically fine, I went to get Legolas, and he was on the floor."

"Is he going to be all right?" asked Legolas.

"At this point… it's still too early to say. He might wake up and be perfectly fine, he might wake up and end up with amnesia, temporary or permanent paralysis, a form of dementia, or any one of millions of other conditions, or he might…" The healer's voice trailed off, noticing the discomfort of both princes.

"…Not wake up at all…" finished Ithilas.

The healer nodded slowly.

"I think you two had better take some time alone…" muttered the healer. Ithilas and Legolas understood that they were dismissed.

As they left the room, Ithilas turned to Legolas. "This is your fault!" he snapped.

Legolas stared, hurt, at his brother. "How is it my fault?"

"If you hadn't wrecked his mind, he wouldn't have done this to himself!"

"Hold on," Legolas said angrily. "Who said anything about him _doing_ this?"

"Oh, just look at the facts! Ada goes insane after last night, I come and find you and when we come back, he's on the floor!"

"Yes, but if Ada wanted to die, he would have waited to fade!"

"What if he couldn't?"

"Well, I know that he wouldn't have done this to himself!"

"Why not?"

"Because you know just as well as I do that there is a huge amount of shame associated with trying to do that."

"Well, what are you suggesting?"

"Maybe this was an attempt at assassination."

"Assassination?" Ithilas asked Legolas skeptically.

"Why not?"

"Because this palace is probably the safest place in Greenwood. Anyone trying to get in without going through the proper procedures would be shot dead before they reached the courtyard."

"But people have been known to get in."

"Ok, let's assume just for a second that hypothetically, somebody _did_ get in, in _broad daylight, _on a day where visitors were banned, and broke into probably one of the most secure rooms in the palace. How would they have got in, attacked Ada, and got out again _undetected_ in the time between when I left to come and find you and the time when we returned?"

"How long were you away for?"

"About five minutes, maximum."

"Well they wait on the windowsill, open the window when you leave, attack Ada, and leave via the windowsill."

"You've thought this out very carefully."

"It's what I always used to do."

"Really?" Ithilas asked. He wanted to ask why exactly Legolas had cause to sit on Thranduil's study's windowsill for any length on time, but thought better of it. If there was a story it would have to wait. "And how long would that person have to wait?"

"About ten minutes, to see if anyone entered."

"And what motive would they have to assassinate the king?"

"Well, Ada sold me to Sauron for the sake of keeping his kingdom, who's to say he wouldn't do that to somebody else? Our people don't want somebody like that in charge."

"Ok, but my initial point still stands." Ithilas was getting bored. "It is far more likely that Ada just lost his mind because of you than somebody went to the trouble of breaking into the palace to assassinate the king and escaped without getting shot."

"Well maybe they did get shot."

"Ok, well let's ask Paradhil about it," Ithilas said, referring to the captain of the guards.

"Fine."

"Okay then."

At that point, Paradhil came running over to the two princes. "My lords," he panted. "I've been looking everywhere for you after somebody told me about the king."

"We were just about to come and find you," Legolas said.

"Yes, I need to prove my baby brother wrong," Ithilas said lightly. "Was somebody loitering on the king's windowsill, possibly with a knife, waiting to assassinate the king?"

Paradhil looked horrified, and wished he could give any answer other than the one he was about to give.

"I wouldn't know, your highness." He looked scared. "All the guards, even those who were meant to protect the palace exclusively, have been out in the city."

"What? Why?" Legolas asked.

"There are riots in the streets."


	15. Part 1 Chapter 14: Confusion

Chapter 14 – Responses and Confusion

They both followed the lieutenant through the badly lit corridors. They had absolutely no idea how 'He' was going to react to the news. Truth be told they weren't exactly eager to find out.

'He' watched the three of them enter, and watched as the fear in their eyes increased steadily. One thing that he was infamous for was his wrath, and he recalled how one time, many centuries ago, he had managed to throw a tantrum so large that in the aftermath, nobody stayed in the same room with him for longer than the time it took for them to get out. This reaction had lasted over a year, and he couldn't even remember what the argument was about.

The three stopped before him, interrupting his musings, and by this point the fear in their expressions had reached the point where fear was practically radiating out from them in waves. If they were this scared about seeing him, then that could only mean they were bringing him bad news. That was a shame. He didn't like bad news…

"Yes, what is it?" he drawled, his eyes flitting between the trio and finally resting on the lieutenant.

"My lord…"

"Spit it out, I haven't got all day."

"The prisoner… he has escaped…"

He remained silent for a second, before talking to his lieutenant with the same, impassive, monotonous voice he always used. "Escaped?"

"Yes, my lord."

"And you tried to stop him?"

"Well, of- of course, my lord…" the lieutenant stuttered.

"But you couldn't?"

"No, my lord… we tried, we even shot him, but he still escaped…"

"You shot him?" A bite of impatience entered his voice. "You _shot _him?"

"Erm… yes?"

"You idiots."

"What?"

"You utter, utter idiots."

"I'm sorry, I don't follow…"

"He was always _meant_ to escape! And you tried to _kill_ him? The whole point was that eventually, he would escape!"

"Well… as I said… he did survive…"

"Yes, but that was a result of pure luck. Once again, I will reiterate. IDIOTS!" He screamed the last word.

"I'm sorry, my lord…"

"Oh, but this is _brilliant!_" he said, and he meant it. This wasn't bad news at all. This was better than anything he could have hoped for. True, it may have been beyond the comprehension of these three idiotic servants, but he was finally able to carry out the last stage of his plan.

The lieutenant now looked confused.

"Ok, so part one failed, part two nearly succeeded but somehow managed to fail, but now that he's escaped, part three can be put into action!"

"I don't follow…" the lieutenant said, looking concerned by his master's response.

"He escaped and now it's all going to be fine again!"

"Am I in danger of you explaining yourself soon?"

"This is wonderful! Fantastic! Excellent! Incredible! _Brilliant!_"

"Obviously not…"

The lieutenant and the two other servants left the room, looking possibly more scared than they had when they entered. Not that He cared. It was going to end soon. His masterstroke was going to play itself out. All he had to do was to sit back and watch the fireworks…


	16. Part 1 Chapter 15: Anarchy

Chapter 15 – Anarchy

Legolas and Ithilas rushed out, Paradhil following closely behind them. The city was in a state of total devastation. Half the buildings were on fire, lighting up the low, dark grey clouds that had settled mercilessly over them. People were smashing things, beating others up, burning things, stealing, and just generally causing mayhem. There was a small group of people who were marching on the palace, screaming all sorts of abuse directed at the king, and the group was getting larger by the second. The guards were trying to hold them back, and the remainder were trying to stop the other people from destroying the city. In short, Thranduil's attempted assassination/suicide was now the least of their worries.

Instantly, Legolas started formulating a plan. Without so much as a word to Ithilas, he motioned for Paradhil to follow him, and ran off towards the stables.

"Summon the army. Tell them to meet me at the gates to the palace. We'll try to subdue the rioters, but tell them that they cannot kill them."

"But my lord!" protested Paradhil indignantly. "Half the army are protesting! If we had the army on our side then we wouldn't need to send out the guards!"

"What about the other half? And where's Oresor?"

"The other half are uncomfortable about fighting against those they consider brothers-in-arms. And who's Oresor?"

"My horse… Where on earth is my horse?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Well, try and convince the other half to fight. Use the 'help or your family will die' tactic. That usually works. And also call the other half of the army traitors or terrorists. If that doesn't work, summon every able-bodied person to the gates. I'd like the army but an angry mob of law-abiding citizens is almost as good. In fact, do that even if the army _does_ decide to fight. And WHERE IN THE NAME OF THE VALAR IS MY HORSE?"

At that point a panicking stable-boy entered, saying that Oresor disliked the stables and had spent the past five days in the yard refusing to let anyone touch him. Paradhil took that as his cue to get out of the stables, and Legolas followed the stable-boy into the yard. He retrieved Oresor (who calmed instantly at the sight of him) and rode out to meet the protestors.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked the group at large.

"We can't have someone like the king running this country!" shouted someone near the front over the cacophony. Legolas instantly met the elf's gaze, and recognized him as the now-former second-in-command of the army, Kiridar.

"I would have thought that you of all people, Kiridar, would have had more sense."

"Well I would have thought that you of all people, _Legolas_, would realize that Thranduil is unfit to be king!" Kiridar screamed back, sparking a general cry of outrage.

"Well I would advise you to think long and hard about what you are about to do," Legolas said lightly. _The longer the better,_ he thought privately. "At this point, none of you are in the wrong. Yet. However, if you try to force entry into the palace, you will all be tried with treason. This is your final warning. You know our laws just as well as I do. If you refuse to heed this warning, then you know the penalty for treason. You also know that as soon as you enter the palace grounds without permission, then the guards are authorized to shoot you. And I will tell you now: _none_ of you have permission to take a step beyond the boundaries of the palace until this is all over. And even then, it is doubtful that you will have permission to do so ever again. So I would advise you to return home, before this goes any further. For those of you that _don't,_ then you can expect a summons to the palace one more time once this is over. Choose wisely."

With that, Legolas left, heading straight for the gate. He met Paradhil and a much larger force than he was expecting.

"That was quick," he muttered.

"Quick is what I do," Paradhil replied proudly.

"Well then, go quickly and tell the guards that if they see anyone try and enter the palace, they can shoot them on sight. Tell them not to go for the kill unless they have no choice."

Legolas watched Paradhil as he rushed off towards the palace, before turning to the assembled elves.

"Right," he said. "I trust that Paradhil has told you about the 'no killing' policy?"

The elves nodded.

"Well then," he turned Oresor around. "You know what to do.

* * *

><p>Ithilas watched his brother carry out a fairly crude but nonetheless effective plan, and watched as the streets turned into a battlefield, with mob against mob. Legolas had ordered the citizens that Paradhil had assembled to try and put out all the fires, while the army ended up with the more confrontational tasks.<p>

Legolas rode up to where a particularly nasty 'fight' was going on. A more accurate description was that eight different people were attacking a mother as she was thrown out of her home with her daughter. Legolas rode straight through the middle of the attack, and the elves scattered.

"You're not meant to be riding a horse in the streets, it's against the law!" screamed one of the elves indignantly.

"And you're not meant to be beating up somebody after kicking them out of the house with every intention of stealing anything of any value after doing so, but you're still doing it, aren't you?" Legolas said, smiling sarcastically. Afterwards, however, the smile slipped from his face faster than a pile of bricks. "Don't talk to me about breaking the law."

Oresor reared up, and the gang of elves scattered. And so Legolas rode on.

Paradhil, after giving the guards Legolas' orders, decided to help restore order. He came across several fights, handled them in a manner very similar to how Legolas had handled the eight elves, before he came across two people who were trying to torch a market stall. In fairness, most of the market had been torched already, but that didn't mean to say that he was going to let it go up in flames. The two elves threw the torch towards the stall, but Paradhil sped forwards and caught the torch deftly. Legolas had said no killing, but he hadn't said anything about threatening…

He pulled out his sword and pointed it at the throat of the elf who had thrown the torch.

"You're both going to help me put out these fires or else I'll spill your lifeblood over these flagstones."

"You wouldn't dare!" snarled the elf who didn't have a sword pointing at him. For some reason he seemed much more cocky than the other elf.

Paradhil pressed the blade onto the first elf's neck. "Try me."

* * *

><p>Legolas rode up towards Paradhil as night was descending upon them. "Are you all right?" he asked.<p>

"I've been better," Paradhil replied, looking as tired as Legolas felt.

Legolas nodded understandingly. "I saw-"

"Oh, Valar, no!" Paradhil suddenly yelled.

"What is it? What's wrong." Legolas asked, frightened by Paradhil's sudden distress.

"Oh, please, no," Paradhil showed no indication of having heard Legolas. "Oh, please, Valar, no. Not now, no!"

Legolas turned around to where Paradhil was looking. He followed his gaze, but only saw fire.

"If you're worried about the fire-"

"No… Not the fire… Beyond the fire…"

"Beyond the fire?"

"Behind it… Outside the walls… On the hill…"

Legolas looked long and hard at the hilltop. Suddenly, there was a huge crash and an explosion, as one of the houses finally collapsed, which illuminated nine mounted figures who looked far too familiar to Legolas. He finally understood why Paradhil was so distressed.

It was the Nazgûl.


	17. Part 1 Chapter 16: Realizations

Chapter 16 – Realizations

Legolas' eyes stayed fixed on the Nazgûl as they stood on the hill, their blank faces turned towards the city as it descended further into chaos. And then, one by one, they turned around and walked away.

Legolas didn't understand. They'd had the perfect opportunity to attack, and yet, instead of doing so, they had walked away.

_Why would they do that?_

He wanted nothing more to follow them, to confront them, but he was needed here. The city was practically in ruins. The Valar knew that relationships between the royal family and the people were wrecked enough, and riding out of the city now was probably going to destroy them completely.

Dawn arrived long before the city was calm enough to warrant Legolas heading back to the palace. He felt absolutely exhausted after the night's events, but as he dismounted Oresor in front of the stables, he was accosted by a man who looked like he was in dire need of a bath.

"Excuse me," he said angrily. "But what gives you the right to use the king's stables?"

Legolas merely raised one eyebrow at the man before he started to lead Oresor inside. However, the man stepped in front of him.

"Move aside!" demanded Legolas.

"No!"

"I said _move aside!_"

"Why should I?"

"Well," Legolas said, surveying the man. "You're a stranger in this realm, you're currently standing between me and my objective location, my father has either nearly been assassinated or else tried to commit suicide, I've not had any sleep in two days, I'm in an extremely bad mood and I'm carrying two incredibly sharp knives. Do you really think it's wise to stand in my way?"

"I am hardly a stranger to this realm."

"Oh really? Well, where are you from? Oh, actually, let me guess… Well, you're not from Lake Town, they tend to be a lot less _arrogant_-" The man looked shocked. "-And also, they would know just who I am, which you clearly don't. So that means that if you're not a stranger, then you're from an elven realm. You would obviously know who I am if you came from here, Lothlórien doesn't tend to house humans, which, seeing as how you've obviously visited before, you must have been, so that leaves Imladris. Am I right?"

The man looked stunned, before finally answering. "Yes, I'm from Imladris."

"Ok, now, I will ask you once more. Move aside."

"Not until you tell me who you are."

"What?"

"Well you know all about me, now tell me about yourself."

Legolas blinked at him several times, as if trying to discern if this man was a figment of his imagination. "I merely made an educated guess as to where you were from. Try and guess who I am. I'll tell you if you're right."

The man suddenly looked uncomfortable and hesitant. Legolas took this opportunity to brush past the man and entered the stables.

"Well, you were right about the fact that I've visited here a lot," the man said, following him in. "However, I don't recognize you, so that means you're either somebody insignificant or else you've been away a long time. However, you're using the king's stables, so you must be very important. You clearly haven't just become important, seeing as how you kept saying 'you would know who I am,' so you must have been away a long time. You can't be a relative of the king, seeing as how he doesn't have any relatives that I haven't met apart from his younger son, who died a long time ago, and so that leaves either an important member of the army or an advisor. You wouldn't have been away for a long time if you were an advisor, so my guess is that you're an important member of the army?"

Legolas, who had by now let Oresor into his stall and locked the door, raised both his eyebrows and started clapping slowly.

"Well done, I'm impressed. You started well, you ended well, but you went a bit wrong in the middle."

"A bit wrong?" the man said questioningly.

"Ok, you're right, that's a bad choice of words. _Very_ wrong, then."

"Where did I go wrong?"

Legolas was about to answer when the door opened, revealing Ithilas, and somebody Legolas never thought he would see again holding a rope that was fastened around the neck of a small skulking creature.

"Hello, Mithrandir," Legolas said lightly.

Gandalf barely paid any attention to him, handing the rope to the man. "Look after him, will you? I need to talk to Ithilas and he won't keep silent for much longer than a few seconds."

The man nodded, looking at the creature with disdain.

"Hello, Mithrandir," Legolas repeated.

"Yes, yes, hello, hell-" Gandalf finally realized who he was talking to. "-o…" He stared at Legolas for a few seconds before turning to Ithilas. "Something you'd like to explain?"

Ithilas smirked before leading Gandalf towards the palace. The door of the stables banged shut behind them.

Legolas and the man looked at the creature, who immediately started muttering something along the vague lines of 'they stole it,' and 'nasssty elveses…' with various interjections of 'my preciousss…'

"So who's this?" Legolas asked conversationally.

"This is Gollum. Possibly the most infuriating creature in Middle Earth."

"Oh…"

"Anyway, where were you while you were away?"

Legolas was once again prevented from answering, but this time it was by an extraordinarily loud wail from the creature.

"Nasssty ropessss! It BURNSSS!"

"Will you be quiet?" snarled the man, but Gollum ignored him.

"Take it off usssss!"

Legolas bent down so that he was on the same level as the creature, before muttering something in the language of Mordor.

"_I would strongly advise you to hold your tongue or else I will take the rope from your neck and hang you by the ankles from the roof of these stables until you do._"

Gollum opened his mouth noiselessly, before shutting it. He looked at Legolas, terrified, before running to hide behind the man. Legolas straightened up.

"You know the Black Speech?" the man said, terrified.

"Yes."

"How?"

Legolas smirked at the man. "I've been away for a long time, and I know the Black Speech. Can the mortal put two and two together and figure out where I've been?"

There was a pause.

"You were in Mordor?" The man took a step backwards.

"Yes."

"Who are you?" He ran towards the door. "Who _are_ you?"

"I could ask you the same question. You're from Imladris, but they've never exactly been on the best terms with us. I went against the king's wishes and asked them for help countless times when we were besieged a long time ago, but they never bothered to help us. If they had, then perhaps I wouldn't have been captured by the Necromancer. So tell me, why should I trust you?"

The man fled the stables, leaving Gollum in the stables. Legolas tied the rope around a pole before following him into the palace, where he caught up with the man. At that point, Ithilas entered the hall, followed closely by Gandalf.

"Who on earth is this?" demanded Legolas and the man simultaneously, pointing to each other.

Ithilas smiled. "Aragorn, I see you've met my brother."

* * *

><p>"So let me get this straight," Legolas said, looking at his brother like he was insane. "At a time when Mirkwood is in a situation of political unrest and is more likely to explode than the Mountain of Fire, we are taking in a prisoner who will draw Mordor's forces to us like moths to a candle."<p>

"Yes," Ithilas said, leaning on the table around which stood Legolas, Ithilas, Gandalf and Aragorn.

"Just one question," Legolas said, raising his hand to attract attention.

"Go ahead."

"Are you _insane?_" Legolas slammed his hand down on the table. "We can't deal with this now! The Valar knows that we're stretched enough as it is! We don't have the resources to take on another prisoner while half the guards are trying to restore some sense of order, and the other half are busy trying to keep people in prison!"

"And one more shouldn't make a difference," interjected Gandalf.

"Mithrandir, you must know the layout of our prisons by now. True, it wouldn't make a difference if all the cells were in one place, but they're not. And so we'd have to find another four or five guards to look after him if he's as dangerous as you say he is. In the state the city's in, that's going to be nigh on impossible!"

"But you must understand just how vital it is," Aragorn said.

"Vital it may be, but it will be worse if he escapes, and at the rate we're going, that is more than likely."

"I have faith in your people, Legolas," Gandalf smiled at him.

"Faith?" Legolas' voice was bitter. "I had faith. I had faith that somebody would come and help me. But my faith died a long time ago, and so did my hope. Faith is worthless."

"Legolas, whatever resentment that you have bears no value in this matter," Aragorn said. The pair were really beginning to dislike each other.

"So what would you have me do?" Legolas yelled. "Would you have me take on a task that I know we would fail? Would you have me look after a worthless skulking creature who would more likely throttle me than let me befriend him? In a situation where Mirkwood is about to descend into chaos, you would have me take on a charge that must not escape, lest the world fall into ruin?"

"And if you could treat that charge kindly, that would be brilliant." Gandalf smiled at the look of outrage on Legolas' face.

"Treat him _kindly?_"

"I believe that if he's shown compassion day after day, he might be able to reform."

Aragorn snorted, as though he thought the idea ludicrous.

"Legolas, I'll sort everything," Ithilas said. "You don't need to worry about it."

"All right," Legolas replied angrily. "All right, fine. But on your own head be it."

* * *

><p>Legolas wandered downstairs to where Ithilas was trying to sort out the arrangement of the guards, just in case they had a repeat of last night's performance.<p>

"Ithilas, where's that creature? Gollum?"

"Why?" Ithilas asked, barely able to contain his smugness. "Have you decided that you _would_ like to keep him prisoner?"

"I merely wish to speak to him."

"You can try, but you won't get much out of him. He barely says much more than 'my precious' and he says that far too often."

"Where is he?"

"Cell 38."

"Thank you."

Legolas walked down the corridor that led to cell 38, where the guards were resorting to all manner of methods to try and keep him quiet. Gollum, however, was drowning out their futile attempts with a lot of very loud screams.

"You can go for the moment," Legolas said, to which the guards looked very relieved, before letting himself into the cell.

"They stole it from usss… my precioussss… Nasssty elvesesss…" Gollum wailed, completely oblivious to the fact that his company had changed.

"Who stole what from you?" Legolas asked loudly.

"Bagginsss… stole the preciousss…"

"What precious?"

"Nasssty elvesesss… Not letting me get it back… _Gollum! Gollum!_"

Legolas sighed, before reverting to the Black Speech.

"_Need I remind you that I know the language of Mordor?_"

Gollum suddenly wailed, backing away from Legolas. "The wordsss… They BURNSSS uss…"

"_Yes, they burn you, and unless you fall silent right now and answer the questions I put to you, then I will continue to use them._"

"Why does he-"

Legolas struck him across the face and, miraculously, the creature fell silent. Legolas reverted to the Common Tongue.

"Now what is your precious?"

"My birthday present…"

"Which was?"

"The preciousss…"

"That's helpful," Legolas muttered sarcastically. He got the feeling that he was going in circles. "What was the nature of your birthday present? _And don't say the word precious,_" Legolas snarled the last sentence in the Black Speech.

"A ring… A beautiful golden ring…"

_Finally._ Legolas simply nodded to him as a gesture of thanks, and turned to leave. However, as he reached the door, Gollum spoke again.

"Nasssty elf… Doesn't know what he's done…"

Legolas froze.

"Doesn't know how he's hurt usss…"

_How have I hurt him?_

"Doesn't know what he's done to his city… _Gollum! Gollum!_"

Legolas turned around and silently walked back towards the cell.

"The Dark Lord has used him for his own endsss…"

_His own ends?_

"Nasssty elf has let the fireworks go off…"

"Explain yourself," Legolas finally demanded the skulking, muttering creature to do.

"Nasssty elf has let the Dark Lord take the great forest…"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Dark Lord's plan is complete…"

And finally, Legolas understood.

He understood everything.

He understood why Sauron had offered his father a choice in exchange for his own kingdom. He understood the extent of the damage it had caused. He understood Sauron's masterstroke. He understood what his father had done. What _he_ had done.

Sauron had never wanted Mirkwood.

He had wanted to destroy it.

Sauron had tried to destroy it by taking it by force. When that had failed, he had offered Thranduil a choice that would tear him apart and take the realm with him. It had nearly worked, but Thranduil proved stronger than that. He had bounced back. So Sauron had tried one last time. He had _let_ Legolas escape, trusting that when he returned, he would completely wreck the king's reputation. But he had done more than that. He had driven either the king to suicide or somebody to assassinate the king, created civil unrest and total anarchy, and the Nazgûl had come to watch the show.

He had let Sauron use him like a tool.

The city was destroying itself from within, and Legolas had caused it.

Legolas ran outside to look over the city, and he watched the burning, smoldering houses collapse, and the people who were now homeless cry, and those who had lost relatives mourn. All the while, only one thought ran through his mind.

_This is all my fault._


	18. Part 1 Chapter 17: Fixing Problems

Chapter 17 – Fixing Problems

Era silently approached Legolas from behind.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

Legolas would've jumped, but his body was so frozen by guilt that he seemed incapable of moving. A tear rolled down his face and he finally summoned the strength to answer her.

"This is all my fault," he said in barely more than a whisper. "Everything… Last night, yesterday morning, Ada's general disgrace, everything!"

Era blinked at him bemusedly. "You're going to have to explain yourself, because at the moment you're not making sense."

"That creature… He just told me… that everything, even my escape, was part of an elaborate plot to destroy Mirkwood… All this," he gestured to the ruined city. "This was by design. _Sauron's_ design." He spat the last words and turned on his heel and stormed away.

"And so why is that all your fault?"

"Because I let him use me. I acted in exactly the way he wanted me to, and now…"

"And now what?"

"And now Mirkwood's paying the price for my stupidity!"

"Legolas, it wasn't your fault!" Era screamed. "It was Ada's fault!"

"Ada didn't cause this!"

"Yes, he did! He was the one who sold you out!"

"He also managed to keep the realm safe afterwards from threats both inside and out."

"BY KEEPING SECRETS!" Era yelled, and it was only now that Legolas noticed the tears streaming down her face. "Please… don't blame yourself… If anyone, blame Ada."

"I'm just as much to blame as he is."

"No, you're_ not!_" Era grabbed hold of him. "Please… just don't fixate on this…"

"I did this! My actions caused last night! They caused what happened to Ada! If there's anyone to blame, it's me."

Legolas stormed off, leaving Era standing alone. She didn't try to follow him.

"You didn't cause Ada's attack," Era muttered at Legolas' retreating back.

* * *

><p>Legolas stormed into the corridor, however, his anger abated with every step he took. By the time he reached the end of the corridor, it had been replaced by a feeling of dread. He had to find a way to fix this, but he didn't know how.<p>

"Are you all right?" asked a voice.

Legolas whipped around in surprise to face Gandalf. "Anything but," he replied, his voice as heavy as his heart.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Legolas leant against a wall and buried his face in his hands. "Everything is my fault!" he muttered. "I did this! If I hadn't come back, then maybe things would have been all right. Maybe things would have been different if I had met my end in Mordor."

"You really don't know what you're talking about," Gandalf replied, looking at Legolas. "You didn't see what happened to Greenwood after that day."

"What?"

"I came to help Greenwood afterwards. The city was a wreck. Nobody smiled, the people only ever saw Ithilas, and he was practically broken, and your father… your father was as good as dead. And even when he came out of that, he was never as happy as he was before."

"But that doesn't change what I've done! I've ruined everything!"

"Well if you think it's really your fault, then it won't do much good sitting here feeling sorry for yourself."

"Then, pray, what should I do?"

"You could start by forgiving your father. And then, if you really want to make it up to him, you could fix your own mess."

"How?"

"I don't know," Gandalf said with an enigmatic smile that didn't altogether inspire confidence. "That's for you to decide."

* * *

><p>"Legolas, have you been drinking?" Ithilas asked him.<p>

"What? No! For one thing, we don't have any wine in the house." The last sentence sounded like Legolas was missing out on a huge treat.

"Then why," Ithilas said, screwing up his face trying to understand his brother. "_Why_ have you suddenly had this urge to siege Dol Guldur?"

"Now listen-"

"No, _you_ listen! We don't have the resources to attack Dol Guldur! All that will happen is that they'll strike back, and then we end up stuck in a war which, and I cannot stress this enough, _we cannot win!_ It's suicide! You said so yourself, we barely have enough resources to keep a prisoner! The city's already unstable enough, and fighting a war will only aggravate that. And I'm fairly sure that you remember last night, and the last time Dol Guldur tried to siege us!"

"Yes, I do remember, thank you very much for reminding me," Legolas said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to lose you again," Ithilas muttered, concern lining his voice.

"I think it's a little late to try and pretend that you want to protect me."

Ithilas was stunned by the hostility, and didn't try to disguise how much that comment hurt. Seeing his brother's expression, Legolas tried to change the subject.

"But we were furious at each other yesterday. None of us would talk to each other. But then, the events of last night brought us back together, because we were _united by a common enemy._ So my logic is that _if_ we attack Dol Guldur, then everyone will be united in the face of Sauron. You see, he can divide us, but he can also just as easily unite us! So what do you think?"

"I still think you're insane."

At that point, the door opened, and Paradhil entered, looking (if possible) even more tired than Legolas, as he had been working all morning. As he burst in, he only expected to find Ithilas, and entered with a 'milord," which he quickly added an 's' to the end of when his eyes alighted on Legolas.

"Sorry to bother you, but there's a messenger waiting for you in the courtyard."

Ithilas nodded, and started towards the door, but what Paradhil said next stopped him.

Paradhil looked warily at Legolas. "The messenger… is from Mordor…"

Legolas merely raised his eyebrows, and it took a lot of self restraint to fulfill the proverb 'don't shoot the messenger.' He followed Ithilas downstairs, where his eyes fell upon none other than his old friend, 'Mouthy.'

"You!" Legolas exclaimed angrily, slipping into the Black Speech in surprise.

Ithilas and Paradhil looked at him, scared, and Legolas calmly switched back to the Common Tongue.

"Yes, it's me," The Mouth of Sauron said lazily, his eyes flitting between them.

"So you decided to get down then?" Legolas smirked, unable to resist the opportunity to tease.

"Yes, I mean I _did_ enjoy hanging upside down for four and a half hours while a horse tried to eat my nose and you ran away with my sword, but eventually, I did decide to get down."

"I'm sorry," Ithilas cut in, looking at Legolas. "Who is this?"

"Oh, this piece of _slime_ is none other than the Mouth of Sauron. Or Mouthy, as he's affectionately known to his friends."

"My name is not _'Mouthy'!_" he hissed.

Paradhil sniggered. "The Mouth of Sauron?" he said derisively. "Oh, that's very good! We've got the Eye of Sauron, the Mouth of Sauron, what's next? The _ears_ of Sauron? The _nose_ of Sauron? The _hand _of Sauron?"

"That's his army," Legolas muttered. "And stop-"

"Where's the hair of Sauron? Or his chin? Or his neck?"

Paradhil fell silent as the Mouth stormed over to him and slapped him hard across the face, leaving a deep gash in his cheek.

"How _dare_ you insult my master? How _dare_ you besmirch his name with your filthy lips?" the Mouth screamed.

"Well that's rich, coming from you," Legolas muttered, eliciting a laugh from Ithilas.

"You think you're so _funny_…" the Mouth started on Legolas.

"Listen, we can do this all day-" Legolas glanced though the open doors and noticed the sun had set, "-night, sorry. In fact we _have_ done this all day. But that will not get us anywhere. And I do not want you standing in our house any more than you want to _be _ in our house, so why don't you get on and tell us why you bothered to travel up from Mordor?"

The Mouth of Sauron glared disdainfully at Legolas, before speaking to Ithilas. "My master wants his prisoners back. If you refuse to hand them over then he will attack the city."

"Prisoner_s?_" Ithilas replied. "I mean, I know you want to take that skulking creature, even if I can't imagine for the life of me _why_, but who else do you want?"

"I think we both know exactly who else I want."

If Ithilas had turned around at that point, he would have seen Legolas' expression of fury mingled with fear, as he was reminded of a situation long ago. He started shaking his head, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Ithilas drew his sword and pointed it at the Mouth's throat. "If you lay one finger on my brother again, then I swear to the Valar that it will be the last thing you ever do."

"So be it."

With that, the Mouth of Sauron left, and Paradhil looked at Legolas, who suddenly seemed a lot more vulnerable than he did a minute ago.

"Well Legolas," muttered Ithilas grimly. "It seems you have your wish."


	19. Part 1 Chapter 18: Reconciliations

Chapter 18 – Reconciliations

Ithilas turned to face Legolas. "Are you all right?"

Legolas didn't trust himself to speak. He nodded tersely, which was enough to confirm to Ithilas that e was anything but.

"Come on." Ithilas led Legolas out of the room into the library, which was entirely empty.

Legolas just collapsed into a seat, and he still looked vulnerable. Ithilas saw the same expression he had worn when the choice was first offered to Thranduil. A look of fear, and sickening resignation, and an aching sadness.

"It's all right," Ithilas said soothingly.

"I can't believe it," Legolas choked. "They can't seriously expect me to go back…"

"And they can't seriously expect us to just hand you over."

"But if I don't go back then… then Mirkwood will die."

"Don't be such a pessimist. We are perfectly capable of defending ourselves."

"But at what cost?"

"Legolas…"

"I can't go back there…" he muttered, and he sounded close to tears. "I can't…"

"Then don't."

"But if I don't… then our people will die. I can't have that on my conscience…"

"It's all right."

"What should I do, Ithilas?" Legolas broke down and buried his face in his hands, hiding the tears that Ithilas knew he was shedding.

"Legolas, look at me."

Legolas raised his head and stared into his brother's eyes. For a second, Ithilas saw the scared child he had been seven hundred and fifty years ago, just come of age, as he was taken away by Sauron.

"Do you think," Ithilas said, laying both his hands on his shoulders, "that for one second, we would let them take you away again?"

"I'm so scared…"

"Don't be. I've already lost you once, and I'm not losing you twice. I'd rather die than let Sauron touch you now."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, after being brought multiple cups of a herbal tea by Galion, Legolas finally brought himself to enter Thranduil's chambers. But once he had taken in the sight before his eyes, he wished he hadn't.<p>

Thranduil lay on the bed, his eyes shut. There were bandages covering the wounds from sight, but there were red stains on them, and Legolas nearly choked. Part of him wished that the faithful butler would bring him another cup of tea, but guessed that wouldn't be the case, seeing as how Galion had gone down to the kitchens to see what was happening about dinner.

Legolas sat down. He did not know why he was so certain that somebody had attacked him, but he did. Perhaps he felt that if somebody had attacked his father, then the blame would not be entirely on his shoulders, whereas if the Elvenking had tried to kill himself, then it was solely because of him, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with that guilt.

"Ada… I…"

He had no idea what to say, but he felt he should say something. He needed to talk to _someone_, but he wasn't sure how talking to an unconscious figure who could die at any moment was going to help him. However, he went over to the door and bolted it shut.

"Ada, I… I'm sorry for what I said to you. Please believe me when I say I didn't mean it. I was just… so _angry_ about what had happened in Mordor."

And just like that, everything came tumbling out. All of Legolas' feelings from his imprisonment, everything that Sauron had put him through, it all poured from his lips as he spoke to the inanimate figure for what felt like hours. When he reached the point of his escape, where the servant of Sauron had goaded him one time too many, tears fell down his face in torrents.

"I'd thought you'd abandoned me!" he sobbed. "You promised that you would always come! You _promised!_ And you didn't! And _that_ was what hurt me! But it doesn't make what I did to you right… What I did was unforgivable. But if you can forgive me… Oh Ada, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

Legolas lost control, and just let his emotions run wild. He let down his guard where there was nobody to see it. When he felt he had no more tears to shed, he just sat there, gasping for breath. He felt that he had had a huge burden lifted from him.

And that was when he heard a soft, almost inaudible voice gasp three words.

"I'm sorry too."


	20. Part 1 Chapter 19: Answers

Chapter 19 – Answers

Legolas shot out of his seat. Fumbling in his excitement, he unbolted the door and called out for help. A minute later, two healers came in, bustled around the bed, before one asked Legolas to leave the room.

Ithilas found him ten minutes later pacing restlessly.

"What happened? I heard your shout."

"He's awake," Legolas replied tersely.

"What?"

"You heard, he's awake."

"Oh, thank the _Valar!_" Ithilas collapsed against the wall. "Are there any-"

At that point, a healer came into the hall. "You can see him now, my lords."

Legolas raised an eyebrow at the healer (who he had told more than one time never to call him by a title) before entering after Ithilas.

"Ada," Ithilas breathed, rushing over to his side. "Thank goodness you're all right!"

"I'm as fine as I'll ever be," Thranduil rasped.

"If you don't mind me asking," Legolas put in, hanging back as Ithilas straightened up, "what happened?"

"I was attacked."

Ithilas made a gesture like a very exaggerated roll of his eyes, while it was impossible for Legolas to look any more smug.

"Who by?" asked Ithilas, trying to distract Thranduil from Legolas' broad grin, which would require a lot of explaining.

"I don't really remember," Thranduil said vacantly, his face screwed up as he strained his memory. "That day... was just such a blur to me."

"Well, it's all over now. You're on the road to recovery, and soon you'll be fine again."

"Thank you for your kind words, Ithilas... But would you mind if I had a private word with your brother for a minute?"

Ithilas looked surprised, but nodded, before leaving the room. Legolas' smile fell from his face as the door shut and instantly he approached his father.

"Ada, I'm so, so sorry!"

"So am I," Thranduil weakly gestured for Legolas to sit down.

"So just how long had you been awake?"

"I heard most of your little rant," He even managed to smile, but it was only for a short moment. "And I am sorry that you ever had to go through that."

"And I'm sorry that I drove anyone to attack you. Ada, I just wish things could go back to the way they were before!"

"They will soon. Don't worry."

"They won't!" Legolas protested indignantly. "Sauron's already sent messengers asking for my blood, we've taken in a prisoner who's been possessed by the Ring, which is in a location unknown to us at the moment, and half of the city is in civil turmoil as we try to contain anarchy in the streets!"

"Hold on, calm down for a minute. Explain what exactly has been happening in my..."

"Period of unconsciousness?" Legolas supplied helpfully.

"Yes, I suppose that will do. Explain, then."

And so Legolas filled his father in on all that had happened. He listened in silence, just enjoying the sound of his younger son's voice actually addressing him without a hint of hostility underlying every syllable. He realised that Legolas must have finally forgiven him, and he cherished that. However, all too soon, Ithilas returned, but this time there was a note of urgency in his voice.

"Legolas, you need to come. Now."

"Why, what is it?" Legolas asked, looking panicked.

"Mithrandir's left. Apparently he heard the creature mutter 'Shire, Baggins' in its sleep."

This was clearly supposed to mean something, but Legolas was at a loss when it came to explaining it.

"Baggins was the name of a hobbit who helped us deceive a small group of dwarves fifty years ago. Also, there's something else. Sauron's forces have arrived. You need to see this."

"Shouldn't I-" Thranduil began.

"NO!" barked the brothers in unison.

"You need to rest!" snapped Legolas.

"Speaking of things which people _need to do_," Ithilas said pointedly. "You need to come and devise another brilliant strategy like you usually do. So come on!"

Legolas followed Ithilas out of the room and out into the courtyard. He didn't need elvish vision to see that they were as good as dead if they didn't do something fast.

"They've offered us a chance to negotiate," Ithilas observed as he saw the escort flying the banner of the red eye that was standing outside the city gates.

Legolas and Ithilas then assembled their own escort of the King's personal guard, Paradhil, and themselves, and rode out to meet them.

They were confronted with the Witch King of Angmar and the Mouth of Sauron as the Dark Lord's ambassadors for negotiations.

"My master, Sauron the Great, wishes for you to hand over the two prisoners," the Mouth began, glaring at Legolas as he did so.

"_My_ master," the Witch King said pointedly, "states that this is your last chance, or we will crush your city. You've seen our forces with your own eyes, and you know that we are perfectly capable of doing so. We do not assemble armies of this size for the fun of it."

Legolas bit back the retort that he longed to throw at them.

"Sauron the Great does not like his time to be _wasted,_" hissed the Mouth. Legolas noted with amusement the power struggle going on between the two captains.

"My answer has not changed," Ithilas said, his tone impassive, but his eyes the epitome of his father's ire as they flashed towards the Mouth.

"Very well," the Witch King said. "Then we are at war."


	21. Part 1 Chapter 20: Aid

Chapter 20 – Aid

_Legolas,_

_Much as I was amused by your last letter, acknowledging that Greenwood needs our help, I must decline. It is not in Imladris' best interests to send an army to almost certain death in order to help a dying cause. Please understand that this is not personal, and this refusal has nothing to do with the dispute that has occurred between me and your father. I wish you the best of luck with staying the Necromancer's forces, and perhaps when we meet again, I may have a chance to explain my reasoning more fully._

_Elrond, Lord of Imladris_

Legolas reread the note that had been sent to him the day before the end of the siege, and felt the same anger that he had felt when he had first read the letter flare up inside him again. Even as he read the arrogant opening to the letter, he longed for nothing more than to punch the elf lord, but seeing as how said elf lord was not present, he had to make do with punching the wall.

He couldn't explain, even to himself, why he had kept the letter. Perhaps he wanted a reminder of how bitter and self-centred the Noldor were. Perhaps he needed proof as to why he thought them as scum. But for whatever reason, he had kept the letter safe, and now he reminded himself never to rely on them again.

Interrupting his reverie, Ithilas' commanding tones broke the silence.

"You need to leave," Ithilas snapped.

Legolas folded up the letter and walked into the throne room. Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn looked at Ithilas like he was mad.

"You cannot be serious," Elladan said, his eyes flashing.

"Elladan, Elrohir, they're right," Aragorn said sternly. "We can't stay here, it's too dangerous."

"Yes, but Estel, in case you hadn't noticed, the city is now almost completely surrounded by Sauron's forces. We'd be killed trying to get out."

"You can go by the river," Legolas said. "That hasn't been taken yet. Lake-Town have washed their hands with us, so they should be safe from Sauron for the moment. If you go, you'll have to go _now_."

"But we can't leave you!"

"Yes, you can." Ithilas marched them towards the door. "Now go, before the river's taken too."

"We'll ask our father to send help-"

"You can try!" scoffed Legolas. "But it won't make the slightest bit of difference. Lord Elrond won't lift a finger to aid us."

"You don't know that," Ithilas said sternly, trying to keep his brother's cynical attitude in check.

"Oh, trust me, I do."

Legolas handed Elrohir the letter, which he still had in his hand. Elrohir didn't take his eyes off Legolas as he unfolded it, and the four people in the room who hadn't seen the contents of the letter read it.

Elrohir and Elladan were, for the first time in Ithilas' memory, rendered speechless. Aragorn glared at the letter, willing them to be false, but it was written in Elrond's handwriting, and there was no mistaking the signature at the bottom. Only Ithilas could form words.

"Why didn't you tell me of this?"

"Because you would just go running to Ada, like you always do!" snapped Legolas. "I did this in secret, because while we both knew we needed help, Ada was too proud to back down from their argument, so I used my better judgement, and wrote to Elrond, begging for his help. This was the reply I received the day before the siege was lifted!"

"What were they even arguing about?" asked Aragorn, his eyes leaving the letter, fury burning behind them.

"Ada said that Greenwood was unable to defend itself," Elrohir murmured, finally recovering enough to talk.

"And of course, Thranduil being Thranduil, he didn't take that lying down," Elladan said lightly.

"And so Ada insulted Elrond," Legolas continued, "saying that Imladris was only protected by their ring, and that Greenwood was far more capable of defending itself, and that if they switched positions, the Noldor wouldn't last the night."

"And so began their argument, which only ended when Legolas was taken and Ada nearly faded," Ithilas finished.

"And that argument cost me my life," Legolas said bitterly.

"So that's why you hate the Noldor so much?" Aragorn asked Legolas.

"I don't hate the Noldor so much as Elrond," Legolas responded. "Ask him if he kept the letter I sent him asking for help, and if he did, read it. Then you'll understand."

"Anyway, you've been delayed enough," Ithilas started, remembering the dire situation Mirkwood was in. "Now go, or the river will be closed to you."

As Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn mounted, Elrohir looked back. "We'll find a way to make it up to you," he said to Legolas. "Even if we can't persuade him, I've no doubt that the opportunity will arise."

"Go!" snapped Ithilas, and so the three horses rode away.

_I can only hope that they make it in time._

* * *

><p>That night, all the guards were on high alert – that meant that the number of guards on duty in the city had tripled what it usually was, and all the rest were on standby should anything go amiss, which was what most people expected. Either Sauron's forces would attack them, or the anarchy would continue. (The more cynical amongst the city's population harboured suspicions that both would happen, including Legolas, who had planned for the worst.) The worst part of that night was waiting. The tension in the air was palpable, as though the slightest thing would spark chaos.<p>

Legolas joined Paradhil on the walls, overlooking the various camps that had been set up by the orcs.

"What are they waiting for?" muttered the captain impatiently. "Why don't they just attack?"

"They're waiting for us to make the first move," Legolas replied, his tone impassive and oddly calming. "At the moment all they're doing is building the tension. When it reaches breaking point, the city, which is already in a state of civil turmoil, will erupt, and that is when they will strike."

"Why would we make the first move?"

"We can't afford for riots to break out all over the city with them on our doorstep. Either we break the tension, or the tension breaks us. Sauron knows this, and he knows that we do too."

"So are we going to strike?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because that is exactly what Sauron wants us to do," Legolas said. "And my first instinct is never to do what Sauron wants. Because there is always an ulterior motive behind it. And fortunately for us, I know exactly what _this_ motive is."

"Would you care to elaborate on that?"

"If it reaches the public ear that we were the first to strike, and we sparked this war, then we can say goodbye to whatever law and order we have over this land. The people will run amok, and then Sauron will sweep in and destroy whatever they leave standing. So we don't strike. We calm the city down, using the enemy on our doorstep to hopefully unite them and make ready for war, and then we pray to the Valar that Sauron gets bored and strikes after a while, we strike back in retaliation, the tension breaks and it's not us who's in a bad political situation."

"Smart," Paradhil said after he had digested Legolas' plan.

"Not really, no."

"So how are we going to unite the people?"

"Unfortunately, the most diplomatic speaker in the royal family is not exactly on speaking terms with the public. _Fortunately,_ I am."

"Ah, I see..." Paradhil said. "Actually, no I don't, please explain..."

"We get Ithilas to write a speech, I deliver it, and then hopefully, the city rights itself."

"Right... That just about makes sense..."

Legolas looked out at the idle orcs. His eyes fell upon two orcs who were arguing over a scrap of bread. When one pushed the other down and took the bread for himself, stuffed it whole into his mouth and then gloated to the other one, Legolas felt a surprising stab of pity for the orc on the floor. He knew how it felt to be in that situation.

"They will not attack tonight," he said at length. "Let's go and speak to Ithilas."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he turned away and an orcish catapult let loose a huge boulder. It slammed into the wall, just below where they were standing. The wall crumbled beneath their feet, and each leapt to opposite sides.

"FIRE!" Paradhil screamed at the guards, and a volley of arrows was released, all of them finding their mark.

* * *

><p>Back at the palace, a considerably more healthy Thranduil walked over to the balcony overlooking the city. He saw the black sky, the stars shielded by clouds, reflecting the fires of Sauron's forces. He heard the sound of the boulder hitting the wall, and he heard Paradhil scream his order, and muttered three words to himself.<p>

"So it begins."


	22. Part 2 Chapter 1: Some Things Bend

**- ****Part 2**** -**

Chapter 1 – Some Things Bend

_15 years later..._

"Are you sure this is smart?" Thranduil asked his younger son, who was currently holding out a map of the forest which had a lot of arrows drawn across it.

"Ada, since Sauron pulled his forces back away from the city last month I've always suspected that they plan to take us by surprise!" Legolas pressed earnestly. "They will build up their army where we can't see it, and then re-launch the assault once we've been lulled into a false sense of security! So this plan of attack then means that we can take the element of surprise for our own and destroy them before they get the chance to destroy us!"

"Legolas, has it occurred to you that perhaps they pulled back because they didn't want to fight any more?"

"Why would they do that? It's been fifteen years and the assault hadn't ever been lifted before last month. Why would they lift it now? What must have changed?"

"Maybe they've forgotten what they're fighting for."

"WELL, I HAVEN'T!" Legolas yelled. "And I'm certain that Sauron hasn't either."

"Do you remember what _we_ are fighting for?" Thranduil asked him quietly.

Legolas paused as he remembered the initial cause of the war. They had started fighting for him, but their cause had changed drastically.

"Freedom."

* * *

><p>Legolas walked the all-too-familiar corridor to hear the mutterings of the depraved creature. He came across one of the guards, Carevil, who looked half-dead. His eyes had no sparkle. This was what tended to happen after sitting in a darkened corridor with only Gollum for company. Legolas nodded at Carevil as he entered, and instantly Carevil stood up, smiling far more than somebody in his plight had any right to do so.<p>

"You have no idea how boring this is!" Carevil said, collapsing onto Legolas. "It really saps your strength..."

"We really need to do something," Legolas muttered. "Something that might make him a little more... sane..."

"Well I'm open to suggestions," Carevil muttered, glancing at Gollum, who instantly started muttering something.

"_Alive without breath,  
>As cold as death;<br>Never thirsty, ever drinking,  
>All in mail, never clinking,"<em>

Legolas, having heard this before, whispered 'fish,' and then it hit him.

"Fish!"

Carevil looked at him, completely confused.

"Fish! I've got it!" Legolas yelled triumphantly.

"What?"

"Don't you see?" Legolas pressed.

"No, I really, _really_ don't..."

"Don't you get it? _Fish!_"

-:-

"So my plan is that we take that dratted creature out to a stream of some sort, and let him fish there!" Legolas explained to Ithilas, Thranduil, and Carevil, who had told Gollum not to escape before running after Legolas as said prince had dashed straight out of the corridor and downstairs.

"Why would that help?" Thranduil asked, looking just as confused as Carevil had been to Legolas' explanation of 'fish.'

"Well, it would occupy him!" Legolas said happily. "We could take him out with an escort, and then maybe, after a while, he might learn to love the fresh air, and he might become more sane!"

"Yes, I think I'm beginning to see the flaws in this otherwise brilliant plan," Ithilas said.

"And that would be?"

"_They _would be that you said 'might.' There is no certainty that this plan will work. He might just become more jaded and bitter than ever. The other flaws are: who would be his escort? We have enough trouble finding one guard to look after him, let alone enough for an escort. And finally: do you really think it wise to send a prisoner who Sauron has made more than clear that he wants out, with only a small group of guards for company? Wouldn't it be safer to keep him inside the palace?"

"W-Well," Carevil stuttered. "I-I'm not sure how much you value my input, b-but I agree with Legolas. We cannot keep looking after this creature in the palace. I mean- I - I for one find it absolutely exhausting listening to his mutterings day in, day out, and I'm sure I'm not the only guard to feel this..."

"Carevil, I understand that," Ithilas said. "But-"

"No, you don't. You cannot understand unless you actually do it. You're not meant to get tired sitting down all day in a darkened room, but with this creature, we are."

"We know, yet-"

"Also, the creature last saw sunlight fifteen years ago. He is growing weak. If we don't do something about it then I fear that cell will become his tomb."

"Yes, and why don't we just let him die if he's becoming that much of a problem?" Ithilas asked, somewhat haughtily.

"Because Mithrandir says that we shouldn't," snapped Legolas. "And also, I pity him. I pity what has been done to him. I will not kill him for no reason, and I pity him in that cell. I do not wish to imprison him for much longer."

There was a very awkward pause.

"Very well," Thranduil said. "He can go out on trips into the forest _if_... you can organise a group of no less than ten guards to accompany him at any one time he is not in the palace."

Legolas' face fell.

"You're going to struggle to do that," Ithilas laughed smugly. "Who would captain those guards? Paradhil certainly won't."

Fortunately, Legolas already had an answer to that.

"Me."


	23. Part 2 Chapter 2: While Some Break

Chapter 2 – While Some Things Break

And so it happened that a week later, Legolas, accompanied by eleven guards, took Gollum out into the forest. Gollum wasn't particularly thrilled about being dragged out into the sunlight, and spent the best part of five minutes screaming something along the lines of "The Yellow Face! It _burnsss_ uss!" Legolas told him that if he stopped he would be allowed to get a fish. So Gollum stopped screaming and continued grumbling. Carevil, who had joined the expedition to help convince Thranduil to allow it, kicked him.

They made it into the forest and the sun was practically obliterated by the trees. Occasionally they would pass under a small patch of sunlight, but Gollum seemed content to stop grumbling. (Carevil's kick had only had the result of causing Gollum to glare at him.) Eventually, Legolas decided to stop in a clearing by a stream which Gollum seemed happy to explore. While he was climbing a tree, the twelve elves settled down in the late afternoon sun for what was effectively a chance to relax in the forest.

"Enlighten me," one of the guards, who was called Linton, said. "What exactly are we doing here?"

Legolas leant casually against a tree. "We're here because everyone was so sick of looking after him in the palace, so we-" Carevil coughed violently and pointedly "-_I_ thought it would be a good idea to take him out into the forest."

"While there is the ever-pressing threat of war?" Lea, Linton's sister, asked sceptically. "Is that really wise?"

"Well, Sauron's forces seem to be pulling back. We cannot explain why, but we _think_ it is because he wants this war to end."

"So while we have to stay alert, this is effectively the easiest assignment that we've had. It's like a patrol, but we get to relax in the forest as opposed to comb every inch of the realm for evidence of orc activity," Carevil cut in.

"I guess that's all right," Oridion, the youngest member of the guard said. "Just provided that we're back by nightfall."

After that, most of the rest fell quiet on the matter. They ended up ranting about all the things that irritated them. Legolas' best friend, Taladair, had a nice rant about how life in the palace was just getting ridiculously tense, Linton had a long rant about how Paradhil was nagging him to come up with some vague answer to who attacked Thranduil a decade and a half ago, despite the fact that they both knew that it would probably never be solved, Lea had a rant about Linton, Carevil had a rant about Gollum, Legolas had a rant about Aios, who had woken him up at approximately three in the morning, Taladair extended that rant to how Aios had stolen the keys to the emissary (a room full of birds who carried messages to the various lands) and let loose all the birds around the palace, and he had been responsible for catching them all, and then Oridion rounded it off with a rant about his new baby brother and how he felt unwanted.

By that point, twilight had approached, and Legolas decided it would be time to take Gollum back. Calling softly to the creature, the group headed back, the thirteen of them much happier than they had been when they set off.

* * *

><p><em>21<em>_st__ June_

"Happy summer solstice!" Aios yelled as he leapt onto Legolas' bed, far more excited and energetic than anyone had any right to be at half past five in the morning.

The simple fact of the matter was that amongst the elves of Mirkwood, the various solstices and equinoxes were celebrations and public holidays. Over the past two weeks, the servants around the palace had focused all their efforts on preparing the huge feast that was to take place that evening. Unfortunately, that meant that other things had to go amiss around the palace, such as Galion's check on the lock on the door leading into Legolas' room, and Legolas had forgotten to lock the door himself. Which was why he had an extremely excitable elfling jumping up and down on him.

"Good morning," Legolas muttered blearily. "How many other people have you woken up now?"

"Only Ada, Nana, Era, the King, the Queen, Galion, Paradhil, and the cook!" Aios replied excitably.

"Right, so everybody else in the palace then."

The truth was that Aios, despite being his age, had developed an extraordinary love for parties, something which Legolas had learnt very quickly about him.

"I can't wait until this evening!" squealed Aios, clapping his hands together.

"And I can't wait until I can go back to sleep," Legolas muttered, about as alert as he had been when Aios came running into his room, which was instantly changed when Aios stole his pillow and hit him hard around the head. Legolas blinked several times and became much more awake.

"Why don't you go and find somebody else to wake up?" Legolas said grumpily.

Legolas might have believed that the child looked positively guilty if he hadn't known that Aios was incapable of doing so. As the now-irritated elfling left, Legolas called after him.

"Can I have my pillow back?"

Aios threw it as hard as he possibly could at Legolas' head, and the pillow found its target. Legolas found that he was cursing himself for teaching that child the military precision which he now threw everything.

-:-

Ithilas was not happy. He was never happy when it came to parties. He did not want to use the stocks of Dorwinian wine entertaining arrogant advisors amongst other faces of Mirkwood's elite. He was particularly unhappy that the Master of Lake Town would be joining them, particularly since they had abandoned Mirkwood to its fate. However, there was one good thing to come out of this party. It seemed like everything was finally returning to normal.

Legolas looked like he was finally returning to his old self, something that had seldom been seen since the first siege of Greenwood, as it was now becoming known. He was a lot less irritable, and seemed far more prone to smile. This was a result of how the dozen elves, Legolas, Taladair, Linton, Lea, Carevil, Oridion, Saradear, Hyriol, Fairileth, Riodher, Casathor and Allaer now spent a lot of time in the forest, in that clearing, while Gollum climbed his tree, talking about all their problems. An unwritten rule was in place among them: what is said inside the clearing stays in the clearing. It was a place where they could unburden themselves of their problem, and each would try and find a solution. As nightfall approached, they would head back to the palace with Gollum, and it seemed to everyone that the twelve looked much brighter.

So nobody objected when Legolas asked if they would mind going into the forest that evening.

As they entered the clearing, each instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Every day they were worried about the ever-present threat of meeting orcs in the forest, but Legolas was right in thinking that the orcs do not come so far north-east.

Oridion threw himself down even before Gollum had reached his tree, which was saying something, seeing as how Gollum raced straight over to the tree as soon as it entered his sight.

"Something the matter, Oridion?" Legolas laughed lightly, as he leapt into a tree and settled amongst the branches.

"My sister," he muttered darkly. "We have a tradition of exchanging gifts every solstice, particularly in summer, but this year, while my parents showered her with gifts, they almost completely forgot about me."

"It's not unheard of," said Lea. "When dear Linton here was born, my parents only ever spoke Linton. 'Linton this, Linton that, why can't you be more like Linton?' But trust me, Oridion, it gets better. I mean, she's only four. She's practically a newborn, but when she's about fifty or so, they'll start seeing the darker side to her."

"And what do I do until then?" Oridion muttered bleakly.

"You just have to grin and bear it, I'm afraid," Allaer said.

Legolas made a noise of affirmation from within his tree. "Yes, but believe me, when Era turned 41, she became so much of a nightmare that my parents threatened to kick her out." Legolas smirked at the memory.

"Seriously?" Carevil asked incredulously.

"Yes, they did," Taladair said. "She broke into the armoury and stole the king's sword. It belonged to Oropher. By the time they found her the sword was lying in pieces and several windows had been smashed. King Thranduil was _furious!_"

Everyone started laughing, but Legolas stopped abruptly when Gollum gave a squawk of fear. Several birds took flight. Everyone tensed. Legolas peered through the branches, and saw at once a huge company of orcs fanning out as they approached. He dropped down from the tree and drew his bow, fitting an arrow into it as he went.

"What is it?" asked Linton, alarmed.

"Orcs," Legolas replied shortly. "We have to leave. Now."

Saradear called after Gollum, who was still in his tree. However, Gollum had absolutely no intention of getting down.

"Gollum, please! Now is not the time to be difficult!" he snapped.

"Perhaps we should go after him?" suggested Casathor.

"No, it's not worth it," Riodher replied, shaking his head. "At least there he can escape from the orcs, even if we can't."

"Well, I for one have absolutely no intention of becoming orc meat," Legolas snapped. "We have to leave, even if that means leaving that wretched creature behind. Now let's go-"

He turned around, only to come face to face with an orc chieftain, who smiled sadistically at the twelve of them. It was only then that they realised that they had been completely surrounded, and that they were outnumbered twenty to one.

"You have no intention of becoming orc meat?" the orc said. "Well I'm sorry to hear that."

* * *

><p>Ithilas smiled politely as he stood in the garden, clutching his glass of wine with a much firmer grip than usual, while Elleredh 'entertained' him with some proposal about how to strengthen ties between Mirkwood and Rivendell. To be perfectly honest, Ithilas was absorbing about as much of the conversation as Era was drinking wine. That is: absolutely nothing at all.<p>

Era was busy telling a group of men from Lake Town about how Aios had come into her room even earlier than he had entered Legolas' room and woken her up. She was also flirting outrageously with Bard's younger brother, who now captained the army since Bard's death earlier that year. In truth, Era never flirted with anyone without an ulterior motive, and this time was no exception. She was hoping that perhaps she might be able to convince the captain to help them should Sauron choose to attack again. She was about to go over and suggest this to said captain when she was accosted by Ithilas.

"Have you seen Legolas?" he asked.

"It's lovely to see you too, brother dear," she replied testily.

"I repeat: have you seen Legolas?"

"Not since he left to go into the woods with Gollum."

"You don't think something's happened to him?" Ithilas asked.

"Even if something has," Era shot back, "we have no way of telling. And I doubt anything has. Legolas probably lost track of time, and is busy with his own personal escort. And anyway," she hissed. "We're in the middle of a party! What do you expect to do? Just leave to go and look for him? Ada would practically explode!"

Ithilas cast a furtive look at Thranduil, who was currently reminding the Master of Lake Town about how his folk had come to their aid when Smaug attacked Esgaroth. As he watched, the door opened, Galion whispered something into the Elvenking's ear, and Thranduil's demeanor changed instantly. He became tense, panicked. He made his excuses to the master, and left the room at a brisk walk, which suggested urgency, but not a loss of dignity.

Thranduil re-entered the palace. As he walked into the throne room, he saw an orcish messenger standing there.

"My masters say that you have twenty four hours to hand over the skulking creature," the messenger said, as he walked towards the king. "The price for failure..." the messenger pressed something into the Elvenking's hand, "...will be your son's blood."

With that, the messenger left. Thranduil opened up his hand to see a scrap of pale green embroided fabric torn from Legolas' tunic, which had been dotted with dark, red blood.


	24. Part 2 Chapter 3: Again

Chapter 3 – Again

Legolas felt terrible. Whatever they had used to knock him out had given him a splitting headache. But that didn't nearly compare to the guilt he was feeling.

The four of them who had survived the battle were sitting in a dark room. Linton sat in a corner, sobbing. Carevil was pacing, trying to find a way out. Oridion was sitting down, staring at a wall and shaking, and Legolas was lying at the far end of the room, letting the guilt eat at him.

_This is all my fault. If I hadn't ordered this... If I'd left sooner... If I had called Gollum down earlier... If I'd checked more often... Maybe, just maybe, they might still be alive..._

Lea had been the first to fall. She had taken a run at one of the trees, intending to escape that way, but before she had even touched the trunk, she had been shot by approximately ten orcish arrows. This had angered Taladair into a reaction, and he attacked the orc chieftain, while Linton rushed over to check on his sister. There wasn't much point – she had been killed instantly. Taladair had quickly been dispatched by the orc chieftain, but said orc had been taken out by Saradear, who had fled into the trees and had found an excellent spot for shooting. At that point, Legolas had joined in the fighting, and Gollum had vanished. While Legolas fought, he witnessed Casathor fall, followed by Riodher and Hyriol. It was only after Hyriol had hit the floor that Legolas called a surrender, but Allaer, who was proud and felt that he would rather die than be a prisoner of Sauron, had drawn his blade swiftly across his own throat before any orc could. It was only then that he felt the hilt of a sword slam into the back of his head.

And so now Legolas lay on the floor, contemplating the possible fates awaiting him and the three other prisoners. He felt most sorry for Oridion. His sister was only four, for the Valar's sake...

Carevil stopped pacing as soon as he noticed Legolas had regained consciousness.

"Milord, are you all right?" he asked frantically, rushing to his side.

"Carevil, how many times have I asked you to call me Legolas?" the young prince muttered, as he sat up. It was only now that he remembered the huge gash on his arm that he had sustained. Carevil, noticing how he was wincing, started panicking.

"Will you calm down?" Legolas snapped. "It's barely more than a scratch. I don't think it's poisoned, and I can live with this. What we need to focus on is finding a way out."

"I've tried, I can't find a way out," Carevil said gloomily.

"_You've _tried."

"You won't find anything," Oridion raised his head.

"Wrong," Legolas muttered. "If I can escape Mordor I can do it again here. Watch and learn."

He walked towards the door, intending to open it, but he was beaten to it, when it swung into the room, revealing a group of orcs.

"Right this way, _your majesty_," sneered their leader.

* * *

><p>Ithilas was pacing the length of the hall, muttering to himself. It was the morning after the party, but neither had returned following the departure of the messenger.<p>

"Only Legolas..." muttered Ithilas. "Only Legolas could get himself into the same situation _twice... _And this time he's gone and lost Gollum as well!"

"Ithilas?" Thranduil cut in.

"We can't let this insult go unavenged!" Ithilas snarled. "Sauron may have pulled back, but that doesn't mean that we can't attack his fortress!"

"Ithilas, calm down! You're not thinking straight!"

"I'll _kill _Sauron!" Ithilas lost what little self-control he had. "I'll kill him a thousand times over if that's what it takes to avenge what he did to Legolas!"

"Will you calm down?" Thranduil snapped. "I am just as upset as you are about Legolas, but screaming and ranting isn't going to do anyone any good! So just stop it and _sit down!_"

Ithilas fell into a seat as the door opened, revealing Galion.

"Your highness, there is someone who begs an urgent audience with you," said the butler nervously.

Ithilas leapt to his feet again.

"Where are they?" Thranduil asked.

"Just beyond the city gates, sire."

"Thank you, Galion. That will be all."

Galion bowed and left.

* * *

><p>Ithilas stared out at the scene that was unfolding before his eyes. Legolas was being held in front of the orc, although there was an expression of defiance on his face. He stood up taller than the orc holding him.<p>

"Oh, for goodness' sake," snapped Ithilas. "If he doesn't know where the creature is, then how on earth are we supposed to know?"

The orc smiled sadistically at him. "Why should we believe him when he says that?"

"Why should you not?" Thranduil said angrily. "We don't have him, we don't _want_ him, so if you find him, by all means take him off our hands. That skulking creature has been a stain on this land from the minute he first entered!"

"Why did you keep him then?" asked the orc.

"I'm sure that you'll understand why I can't tell you that," Thranduil replied sarcastically.

The orc growled and drew out a knife very quickly, pressing the blade to Legolas' throat. "Well then I'm sure you'll understand why I'm about to slit your son's neck open!" the orc snarled.

Ithilas suddenly snapped. He leapt forwards towards the orc. This was the last time an orc would ever threaten the life of his brother, he had had enough.

"ITHILAS!" yelled Thranduil.

Several people screamed at what happened next. The blade was pulled away from Legolas' throat, Legolas ducked away from the orc, intending to turn around and grab the knife, but before he had a chance, the knife was swung around very quickly, and Legolas was splashed with warm blood. Another orc kicked him towards Thranduil.

As Legolas turned around, he saw them dragging the limp form of his brother into the thick of the orcs, a deep scarlet cut standing out across the Crown Prince of Mirkwood's pale neck. Legolas didn't need any specialist knowledge to know the gravity of a wound like that. Ithilas was dead.

"No," Legolas breathed, his breath catching in his throat. "No, oh please, no, NO!"

Thranduil was completely silent and motionless. His eyes were fixed on the place where his eldest child's life had been extinguished.

"The price of blood has been paid," the orc said lightly, as Ithilas' body was hidden from view by the forms of the orcs.

"Let us have his body!" Legolas screamed indignantly. "Please, just give us a chance to lay him to rest!"

"No," the orc said, before breaking into a sadistic cackle. With that the orcs left, and the only memento that they had ever been there was the droplets of blood on the grass, like crimson dew, glinting in the late evening sunset.


	25. Part 2 Chapter 4: No Dignity In Death

Chapter 4 – No Dignity in Death

As Legolas and Thranduil rode back, Legolas kept his eyes fixed firmly on the mane between Oresor's ears. He couldn't bear to make eye contact with any of the people who had watched the scene unfold, he couldn't bear the possibility of catching sight of Carevil's son, Linton's father, Oridion's baby sister…

Out of the group, he was the only person who had made it back to the city alive. He had no doubt that Paradhil would find the bodies of Lea, Taladair, Saradear, Hyriol, Fairileth, Riodher, Casathor and Allaer, but he was less sure that they would find Carevil, Linton and Oridion. Even if they were found, Legolas was certain that they would only be in one condition: dead.

Legolas felt guilty. Everything that had happened over the past two days… It had all been his fault. If he hadn't been so _stupid_ as to let his guard down for even a minute, if he hadn't been so stupid as to take Gollum out into the forest, then maybe all of these people would still be alive… maybe _Ithilas_ would be alive…

He hadn't registered that they were back at the palace until Oresor stopped outside the stables. Legolas had been on auto-pilot, just following Thranduil. Legolas barely noticed the tears that had formed in his eyes, and had streaked down his face.

Paradhil came running up to them as Legolas dismounted. Legolas noticed that his father was shaking, although whether with grief or wrath he could not tell.

"My lords!" Paradhil called as he came running over. "Are you all right?"

Legolas turned and fixed his eyes on Oresor's back, which Paradhil took as a greater declination than if Legolas had burst into tears.

"Your highness…" Paradhil spoke tentatively to Thranduil. "Where is Prince Ithilas?"

Legolas turned around again to face Paradhil, looking deep into his eyes. No words passed between them, but Paradhil understood the aching sadness in his eyes, the feeling of guilt betrayed by the apologetic tears as they slipped down his face.

"They will pay for this," Thranduil muttered quietly. The anger, the burning desire for revenge that was betrayed by his voice was so palpable that Legolas actually felt scared. He felt scared of the furious rage, and the stunning capability of his father, and the power and determination the Elvenking possessed that would not allow anything to prevent him from getting his revenge. He did not see the benevolent figure of his father any more. He saw the irate king, furious, capable of anything. "They will pay for what they have done."

Legolas was uncertain of how to react to this, and so he slipped away quietly. He led Oresor into the stables before going to the palace. As he entered, he was accosted by Aios.

"Where's Ada?" he asked angrily, without even so much as a hello.

Legolas wished more than anything that he could have delayed this moment. He knelt down in front of his nephew and took one of the small child's hands in both of his own.

"Your Ada…" Legolas said, looking deep into Aios' eyes, "…won't be coming home…"

Aios looked at him bemusedly, and Legolas felt another pang of guilt. _So young…_

"Why not?" Aios asked. "Where is he?"

"He… He has ascended into the halls of Mandos…"

Aios looked at him disbelievingly, before saying just one word.

"No."

"I am sorry."

"No!" Aios screamed.

Legolas stood up to walk away.

"No, no, no, no, _NO!_ You're lying, he isn't, _he isn't!_"

Legolas spun around to face his nephew, who had started to cry. He ran back and pulled Aios into a tight embrace, and they stayed like that for the best part of five minutes. Legolas then made his excuses to Aios and left for his room. Once he had locked the door, he collapsed onto his bed. It was only then that he lowered his guard, when there was nobody to see him, that he wept openly for his brother.

* * *

><p><em>Two days later...<em>

Legolas' expression was impassive, but his eyes mirroring the grief that the person pacing the hall was feeling. Thranduil was ranting at Legolas, who was standing on the left side of the hall near the throne, Paradhil, who was standing near the door, and the various guards lining the walls.

"We have to find a way to avenge this blatant insult! We will find Ithilas' body, and we will bring him back and lay him to rest, so that he may finally have peace!"

"My lord, we do not have a chance at attacking Dol Guldur where his body almost certainly is," Paradhil said nervously. Everyone was nervous nowadays when disagreeing with the king, particularly over the subject of Ithilas. When this subject came up, the king was just as likely to turn his anger on the civilians who he had never spoken to before as the orcs who he met almost every day in battle.

"I don't care! I want my son back, and I want him back _now!_"

"Your majesty?" interrupted Galion as he entered, if possible more nervous than Paradhil. "There is a messenger to see you."

"Is this messenger, by any chance, a messenger of that foul, loathsome tyrant who has taken_ both_ my sons from me?"

"I came back..." Legolas muttered inaudibly.

"Yes, your majesty," Galion said, before fleeing the room as the Mouth of Sauron entered casually, dragging a sack behind him. He stopped when he reached the centre of the hall.

"You have really got to stop coming in here," Legolas growled in the Common Tongue as Thranduil sat gracefully down on his throne.

"I have a present from my master," the Mouth smirked, his eyes roving over them all. He threw the sack onto the floor, so that the folds hid the contents from view. It was only then that the surrounding elves noticed the sack was bloodstained.

"What's that? A bag of seeds?" Paradhil asked.

Thranduil gestured to Legolas to see what the contents were. As Legolas walked up to the sack, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread. He laid his hands on the coarse fabric, and pulled back the top fold.

As his eyes fell on the contents, his breath caught in his throat. He closed his eyes, trying to erase it from his memory, but the damage was done. The image of what lay in that sack was burnt into his mind, it was still fixed firmly, as though pasted on the insides of his eyelids.

"You took away my liberty," he whispered, the rage in his voice so lethal that it would have been less scary if he's shouted it. "You took away my livelihood, you took away my brother, and now _this!_" His voice now did rise to a shout. "Haven't you done enough? What have I done, that has so personally offended you and your master Sauron, that warrants this?"

"It's what you deserve, _princie-boy_. It did taste good," The Mouth said, using the nickname to bring Legolas' ire to a peak.

And that is exactly what he did. From his throat erupted a feral growl that rose to a scream as he thought of everything that Sauron and his favourite lieutenant had done to him. His father's shout of his name went unheeded as he ran into the servant of the Dark Lord, collided with him, and the pair went crashing through the double doors at the end of the hall and they rolled down the stairs. This was the last straw.

Thranduil watched his son's reaction with a certain alarm. He stood up, deciding to see for himself the contents of this bag. He walked over to it, to where Legolas had left an opening in the material.

His gaze met with his older son's head. Ithilas had been torn apart limb from limb, and each part of his body was in that sack, mutilated beyond recognition. Aside from his head. Thranduil knew Ithilas' features well enough to recognise that, even with what had been done to his eyes. They had been burst inside their sockets. His head had been shaved, and there were several nasty cuts gracing his bloodstained cheek. Upon the rest of his body there were claw marks and parts where chunks of flesh had been ripped off, showing his bones.

Thranduil let out a wail of despair, and Paradhil and several other guards came running over to him.

"Oh, Valar, no," Paradhil gasped, as two guards helped Thranduil back to the throne.

His wail carried out to the courtyard, where Legolas now lay winded, clutching the Mouth's wrist.

It was then that Legolas cracked.


	26. Part 2 Chapter 5: The Last Straw

Chapter 5 – The Last Straw

Legolas suddenly felt a wave of pure fury rise up inside him. He could never, would never forgive Sauron and anyone who willingly served him. He thought of every wrong that had been committed by Sauron, about the fear he had felt in Mordor, about the sense of betrayal he had felt after he had been taken, the resigned feelings he had had in Mordor as he screamed his father's name in a hope that maybe, just maybe, Thranduil might come, about how he learnt to loathe his title, about 'Mouthy's' mockery of him, about all of those who had died in the first siege, and all those who had died in the second, about his dead brother, about the violation of Ithilas' body, about the dead bodies of those who had been found in the woods, who had died to protect Gollum, about those whose bodies had not yet been found – Carevil, Linton and Oridion…

As all of this sped through his mind, he became aware that he still had a hold on the Mouth's wrist. Still holding it tightly, he spun around so that he was on top of the Mouth, and pinned him to the ground, while he punched the foul servant in the face again and again and again...

The Mouth pushed its knees up against Legolas' chest, and threw the elf's body away from its own. As Legolas got to his feet, he heard the sound of steel ringing, and looked to see that the Mouth had drawn its sword.

"If we're going to fight," the Mouth sneered, "then let's fight properly."

Paradhil, who had heard the ringing sword, came rushing out, intending to intervene.

"Stay out of this, Paradhil!" Legolas yelled, drawing his own knives. "This is between me and my _dear old friend_." He piled on the sarcasm.

Paradhil didn't like this, so rushed forwards to lay a hand on Legolas' shoulder. Legolas threw the guard away with so much force that Paradhil ended up sprawled on the floor.

"_I SAID STAY OUT OF IT!_" Legolas screamed.

The Mouth used Legolas' temporary distraction to his advantage and ran forward, sword raised high, and brought it down onto Legolas' head. Or would have done, had Legolas not spun around at the last moment and blocked it. He pushed the knives away from him, the sword still caught between them, with a force fuelled solely by anger.

While the Mouth was recovering, Legolas ran towards him, and spun one knife high above his head, while thrusting the other into the space where the Mouth's chest had been, seconds before the Mouth spun out of the way. The Mouth swung the sword at Legolas' neck, but once again, Legolas blocked it. The Mouth went on the offensive, swinging his sword over and over again at Legolas, who was forced to parry repeatedly. Finally, the Mouth thrust the sword back at Legolas' neck, but Legolas just leant back, and the sword passed over his head.

Legolas then caught the sword between his knives again and threw it away before stepping forwards, bringing the white knives around his body, hoping that they would catch the Mouth's side. The Mouth moved to block both blades. Legolas then spun around and tried again on the other side, but with one blade slightly lower, so that it would catch the Mouth's leg, and the sword would not reach to block both. The Mouth blocked the higher blade and jumped to avoid the lower blade, which swung underneath him. With one knife on either side, Legolas swung them both towards the Mouth's waist, who jumped back and placed his sword in between the two knives. The three weapons came together with an almighty clash.

As the Mouth swung his sword at Legolas' chest, the lithe elf somersaulted out of the way, and landed behind the Mouth. He thrust his left knife at the back of the Mouth's neck, who turned at the last moment. Before the Mouth could process what he was seeing, Legolas swung his right knife across his face, and the blade cut through both of his eyes. The Mouth staggered backward with the force of the blow, and found that he was totally blind. All he could see was red, dotted with white spots.

Legolas walked up to his incapacitated opponent and started circling him.

"How do you like that?" he asked viciously.

"Are you going to kill me?" the Mouth asked, turning his face blindly to where the voice had come from.

"Kill you?" Legolas asked incredulously. "No, that would be too easy. Where's the fun in that? I'm going to play with you, certainly, just like you played with me all those years ago, but I'm not going to _kill_ you, no."

"What have you done?" screamed the Dark Lord's favourite lieutenant. "I can't see!"

"You have taken everything from me," Legolas whispered. "You defiled my brother's body, and you wrecked my life. Consider this a taste of what you've done to me. I've only paid you back in kind."

"You're a monster!"

"Oh, _I'm_ the monster?" Legolas asked incredulously. "_I'm_ the monster? I'm not the one who cut a corpse into pieces for no reason! I'm not the one who has kept three bodies from ever being returned! Where are they, then? Where are Carevil, Linton and Oridion? Because I'm right in thinking that you've killed them, aren't I?"

"The three elves who were brought in with you?" the Mouth asked, turning his head blindly, trying to find out where Legolas' voice was coming from. "Yes, they're dead."

Legolas finally lost any self control he had once possessed. He grabbed the top of the cloak on the back of the Mouth's neck, and dragged him towards the stairs that led onto the walls. He dragged the blind servant to the point over the gate, and the Mouth was screaming in pain every step of the way.

"Why are you doing this to me?" the Mouth whimpered, exhausted.

"There was a time when our roles were reversed, was there not?" Legolas muttered in the Mouth's ear, lovingly caressing every word. "Where you had me begging for mercy, at my lowest ebb, with no strength left in me to fight. And I asked you exactly the same question that you just asked me. So consider this a taste of what you did."

Legolas paused, playing with his words.

"But you see, unlike you, '_Mouthy,_' I escaped." There was a tone in Legolas' voice that was completely unfamiliar to anyone who knew him – a tone of vicious anger, a streak of sadism. "I quite literally fell off the top of the gate and rode straight out of there."

"That's only because the Dark Lord wanted you to," the Mouth said, a hint of defiance creeping into his tone.

Legolas yanked the Mouth up and pinned him against the battlements by his neck. "Do you think I don't know that?" he roared.

"Let... me... go..." The Mouth of Sauron gasped for air.

Legolas released him, holding him up by the scruff of his neck. "So now you're going to escape, with my help. You're going to escape in exactly the same way I did."

The Mouth of Sauron suddenly realised what was about to happen. "No... oh, please... no..."

"Do you remember what your answer was, whenever I asked you why you did things like this to me?" Legolas asked angrily. "Well? _Do you?_" he roared.

The Mouth of Sauron nodded, terrified.

Legolas leant close to the Mouth's ear, and whispered one word, so softly only the Mouth could hear it.

"Fun."

Legolas threw the Mouth forwards, so that his form spiralled down, hitting the grass with a loud thud.

As he watched, the Mouth of Sauron got to his feet, albeit ungracefully, and stumbled around blindly until he crashed into a tree and fell down unconscious. Legolas turned away to face Paradhil, who had watched most of Legolas' actions.

"Legolas..." he started to say, but then his voice died in his throat. He just shook his head, and just like that, Legolas had lost the respect of all the people of Mirkwood.


	27. Part 2 Chapter 6: Monsters and Murderers

Chapter 6 – Monsters and Murderers

There was some respite from the guilt that was gnawing at Legolas when he got up the next morning. Thranduil was standing in the corridor as Legolas emerged from his room, fully dressed, at the crack of dawn, which was surprising, seeing as how Thranduil preferred to sleep in until his daily meeting at eleven o'clock.

"Paradhil has brought back the bodies," was all Thranduil said by way of greeting.

"I'm sorry?" Legolas asked blankly, not really understanding what was going on.

"The bodies... of the elves in the forest... those who died in the clearing that day... remember?"

"Oh..."

Legolas blinked a couple of times, trying to make himself more alert.

"Were Carevil, Linton and Oridion with them?" Legolas finally asked.

Thranduil shook his head. "Paradhil is still looking for them."

The silence that stretched between them merely emphasised the mood that had been present since Legolas had returned the evening before – while Thranduil and Legolas may have been father and son, the pair just didn't know each other anymore.

"Anyway, I should..." Legolas started, gesturing down the corridor. "I should get going..."

Thranduil started, as though he had forgotten he was there. "Yes, I should too..."

The pair went off in opposite directions, the wedge that had been driven between them growing with every step.

* * *

><p>Legolas stood in the cold marble room, dressed entirely in black. It was the day of Ithilas' funeral. Tradition dictated that the body must be processed through the streets of the city, so that the people could pay their respects, but the condition in which Ithilas had been brought back in had made it nearly impossible. Thranduil had decided on a less-than-ideal solution, to encase Ithilas' body in a wooden coffin and carry that around the city. When the coffin had arrived at the House of Oropher's tomb, where Ithilas would be laid to rest beside the first king of Mirkwood, it had been showered with lilies and various other flowers. There was an ornately decorated casket made out of white stone, with a sculpture of Ithilas, lying motionless, his ceremonial sword in the stone figure's hand, and a crown of gold that wreathed his head. As the four elves who had carried the coffin around the city laid it down in the casket, Isiris stepped forwards, and, atop the lilies that had been given by the people, she laid a single red rose. As she stepped back, Legolas noticed that tears were streaming down her face, concealed from her son by the veil. Legolas laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she warmed to the familiar touch. The pair barely listened to Thranduil say his speech about how cruel it was that Ithilas had been taken from them, and how amazing he was in life. At the end, everyone had tears in their eyes, and it was all Legolas could do to keep himself standing. Then the casket was shut, the guests departed, followed shortly by Isiris and Aios, and then Rolena and Era, and then Legolas. Finally, the only person still standing in that tomb was Thranduil, who couldn't stem the tears that fell from his eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>As Legolas walked back towards the palace sombrely, a voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked around to find Aniriul slipping down from a tree.<p>

"Hello, Legolas," Aniriul said lightly.

"Aniriul," Legolas replied curtly, not wishing this conversation to go on any longer than need be.

"Did you enjoy the funeral?"

Legolas arched one eyebrow. "Yes, I frequently like to put my brother's body in a tomb with no intention of ever seeing it again," he responded, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"I didn't think you should have come," Aniriul said angrily.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said I didn't think you should have come to that funeral."

"Why?" Venom lined the word.

"Well..." Aniriul paused. "If I'm being entirely honest with you, the way that I see it, you were the one that killed him."

Legolas narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"And there's the fact that you belong in a madhouse."

"Do you really want to continue this conversation?" Legolas muttered, struggling to keep control of his temper.

Aniriul sensed he was getting a rise out of Legolas and so continued. "You see, Legolas, _normal_ people don't rob their opponents of their sight before throwing them off the top of a ten-foot wall."

"And similarly, normal people don't bait somebody who did that on the day of their brother's funeral."

"So you admit it? You did that and you knew it was insane?"

"Yes, I admit it, and I don't regret it either."

Even Aniriul was taken aback by this statement. "Don't you?"

"No, I don't. Do you have any idea how hard life was in Mordor? Do you have even the slightest inkling of how much harder that piece of _scum_ made my life? He deserved everything he got!"

"Really?" Aniriul snarled, his own temper rising. "You really believe that even _that_ creature deserved to be blinded? Elves are meant to be kind, merciful creatures. But you... you're not an elf. You're a... You're a monster!"

* * *

><p>Legolas stormed back into the palace, shaking with rage. He was barely paying attention to where he was going. He was still reeling from the conversation he had just had, and so he was only brought back to his surroundings when he crashed into one of the Queen's chambermaids, who was carrying a large pile of sheets. Linen went everywhere, and Legolas ended up repeatedly apologising.<p>

"I am sorry, I am _so_ sorry," Legolas stammered, bending down to help the maid.

"It's all right," she replied nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"Here," Legolas handed her a small pile, which he placed atop the sheets that she had already collected. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, but her tone of voice suggested otherwise.

"What's wrong?" Legolas said, his tone friendly.

"I- Nothing. I just need to get these sheets to-"

"Surely that can wait a minute, can't it? Come on, talk to me."

"I have to go-"

He grabbed her arm. "Why won't you talk to me?" Legolas asked, his voice rising, anger and hurt lacing every word. "Why won't you or anybody else talk to me?"

"Let me go!" she pleaded.

"Tell me what I've done wrong, for the _Valar's_ sake!"

"LEGOLAS!"

Legolas immediately let go of the maid's arm, and turned around to see Rolena walking down the corridor. The maid instantly broke free, and hurried away, offering her Queen a fleeting smile of thanks, mingled with relief and shock. When the door fell shut behind her, Rolena spoke to her son again.

"We really need to talk."

-:-

"Naneth, I didn't mean for what happened back there to-"

"I know, Legolas, but you let your emotions take control of you."

Legolas nodded morosely. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's not you who you should be apologising to," Rolena said calmly.

"I'm ashamed of what happened," Legolas said, his voice breaking. "Back there, I just wasn't myself. I had an argument with Aniriul, and I was still upset."

"What did you argue about?" Rolena asked, knowing exactly what answer her youngest son – _no,_ her _only_ son – would give.

"We argued about what happened with the Mouth of Sauron."

"Ah, I see. And you felt that this maid was scared of you?"

"Yes," Legolas said, feeling as though his mother was stating the blindingly obvious. "But it wasn't as though I was angry at _her_ particularly. I was angry at everyone who felt the same as her."

"Which is most of Greenwood," Rolena finished. She refused to call her home Mirkwood, no matter how hard her son tried to convince her otherwise.

"I hate that my people think of me like that. It was one mistake! Really, do you think I deserve to be thought of like that?"

"Legolas..." Rolena began, her voice heavy. "I'm not going to lie to you. What I saw that day... What I saw in your eyes... I didn't see my son. I saw a monster who had been raised in Mordor. You were not Legolas then. You were a deranged creature who was after one thing: revenge. Now I know that you had every reason to seek revenge," Rolena continued, as Legolas opened his mouth to speak. "But tell me, does that make it all right to rob a creature, no matter what crimes it has committed against you, of its sight, before throwing it from a ten-foot drop? The creatures of Mordor are thought of as monsters in this realm. Now, in all honesty, answer me this. Just because they hurt you first, does that somehow make it a right to be thought of as better than them, even if you sink to their level? What really makes you so much better than them?"

* * *

><p>Era walked into the conference hall, only to find Thranduil sitting at the head of the table, his posture suggesting that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Era had only meant to pass through, but she stopped when she saw her father.<p>

"I'm sorry, Ada, am I interrupting?" she asked tentatively.

Thranduil didn't make any sign that he had heard her. She crossed the hall, and as she opened the door to leave, he finally spoke, his voice a monotone that emphasised his sadness.

"I've been remembering."

Era paused, looking at Thranduil, waiting for him to explain further. He disappointed her. "What have you been remembering, Ada?"

"What happened that day."

"You're going to need to be a little more specific, Ada. What day?"

"That day... all those years ago. That day when I was attacked."

Era tensed. She had thought that her father had forgotten about that.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, confused.

"I remember what happened."

Era raised an eyebrow. "What was the trigger?"

Now it was Thranduil's turn to look completely confused. "The trigger?"

"Well, people don't just recover from amnesia fifteen years after the event without some sort of stimulus. So what caused it?"

"The funeral."

Era paused, and this time Thranduil did offer an explanation.

"That day, after the party, I was so ashamed of myself, I wanted to run away. I nearly did, too. I planned to fake my own death, and then leave Mirkwood forever, with Ithilas to rule in my stead."

"And how does this relate to Ithilas?" Era pressed.

"I planned my own funeral." Thranduil paused, trying to form the next sentence. "It was exactly like the one I gave to Ithilas. When I planned it, it came naturally. I didn't know where it came from, but it felt so familiar. It was only afterwards that I realised that it should have been _my _coffin, and _Ithilas_ standing there. Our places should have been reversed. And that's when it came back to me."

"And so who attacked you."

"I don't know."

"So really, all you've remembered was that you planned to fake your own death and run away."

"Only I never got that far, did I?"

Era shrugged.

"I've remembered something else," Thranduil continued, in the same monotonous voice. "The attacker... was definitely female."

"So we're looking for an elleth, who can handle a sword, and could slip in and out of the palace unnoticed," Era laughed. "Well that certainly narrows the field."

Thranduil managed a brief smile.

"Anyway, I'd better be going. I'll inform Paradhil of this if you like."

"Please," Thranduil said. The smile slid from his face. After Era had left, Thranduil tipped his head down, and began to weep.

* * *

><p>Era quickened her pace, looking in all the obvious places her brother might be. He had to know. She couldn't keep it to herself any longer. However, Legolas wasn't in his room, in the library, in the kitchens, he wasn't even drinking himself into a stupor in the cellar.<p>

Finally, she decided to ask Rolena if she'd seen Legolas, and as she approached her parents' chambers, Legolas emerged, looking very confused.

"Legolas! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Why?" Legolas asked, slightly put out that he wasn't allowed to go to his room and be left in peace.

"I need to tell you something."

"What do you need to tell me?" Legolas asked in a resigned tone.

Era dragged him into her own chambers, which were just across the hall. "Ada's been remembering."

Legolas arched an eyebrow, hoping for an explanation.

"Remembering what happened that day when he was attacked fifteen years ago."

Legolas' other eyebrow rose to join the first one. "And?"

"Well, he- wait, don't you want to know why he started remembering?"

"Not particularly. On the subject of things I don't want, I don't want to be standing in your bedroom, when I could be in mine, and this is the important part: _in peace._"

"Well, Thranduil doesn't remember who the attacker was, but he's remembered that the attacker was female."

Legolas just looked at her, his face impassive. Eventually, however, he spoke again. "And why do you look so worried?"

"Because..." Era said, struggling to make the next words come out of her mouth. "Because it was me. The person who attacked him all those years ago was me."


	28. Part 2 Chapter 7: A Thief In The Night

Chapter 7 – A Thief In The Night

Legolas blinked at his sister incredulously. "I'm sorry, _what_ did you just say?"

"I said I attacked him!" Era hissed frantically, her breath becoming short and ragged.

"But... but why?"

"I don't know! I just... I was just so angry about what he had done to you! And then he kept it a secret from all of us! And I just felt that we couldn't have someone like _that_ ruling our kingdom!"

"Era, revenge wasn't _yours_ to take! It was mine, and I forgave him! You never should have done something like that!"

"You forgave him? As I recall, you publicly shamed him, causing him to lose his mind!"

"And that was _my_ revenge! You shouldn't have touched him!"

"Really? Was what I did _so much worse_ than what you did?"

Legolas opened his mouth to answer, but the words just couldn't come out.

"I thought not," Era said triumphantly.

* * *

><p><em>Thranduil walked over to the cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a white knife. He would drip blood around the room and then leave, and everyone would think he was dead.<em>

_Sudddenly, he felt a huge weight slam against the back of his head. White spots clouded his vision, and he staggered sideways. He turned around to face the attacker, but he couldn't make out their face. He was thrown forwards, and his attacker stood behind him, holding him up by his hair._

_He yelled out in pain as the first cut was made across his chest. The pain was like a fire, burning his chest. His body jolted at the last moment as he saw the knife descend for a second time, so instead of hitting him in the chest, it hit him in the shoulder. The stab wound hurt, but he knew that this one, at least, would not be fatal._

_It was only then that he realised that he was in a pool of his own blood. He swung the knife with his good arm, and it caught his attacker in the ankle. Whoever it was gasped in pain as he wrenched it out. His attacker came to face him. He couldn't tell who it was though. Their face was clouded, his vision tinted with red. The attacker leered in front of him, taunting him with his inability to remember._

"_You should never have done that to Legolas," the attacker said._

_He tried to grab their wrist as he struggled to stay conscious, but the attacker danced out of his reach. He only realised that the voice was female as they brought their weapon down onto his head. He hit the floor, and the last thing he remembered seeing was his attacker running out of the hall before darkness took him..._

"Wait!" he cried as he jolted awake.

He looked around the room guiltily, thinking he had woken Rolena. But there was just one problem: Rolena wasn't lying next to him. In her place, sitting on her pillow, was a letter.

He picked it up, and noticed that his name was on the back of it. No title, just '_Thranduil_' written in neat handwriting. He opened it, feeling a sense of dread as he unfolded it and started to read.

_My dear Thranduil,_

_I am so sorry for what this will no doubt do to you, but I cannot stay any longer. The death of Ithilas was just too much for me to bear. I had already witnessed the death of one of my sons, and I just could not witness the death of another. Legolas... is not the same child that he was before he was sent to Mordor. I did not want to break your heart, and I did not want you to try and persuade me otherwise, which was why I left now for Valinor, as opposed to telling you what I was planning to do. I love you, with all my heart, and I hope you love me enough that when we see each other there again, we can continue like none of this ever happened. Please, tell Legolas and Era that I love them both so much._

_Please forgive me,_

_Rolena_

Thranduil read this over several times before he digested the meaning of it. Then it finally hit him – his wife had left for Valinor.

"Rolena..." he breathed.

He ran out onto the balcony, but he couldn't see her in the city.

"Rolena!" he called, his panic rising.

He ran down to the throne room, maybe to catch her leaving. He called her name again, terrified. She couldn't have left him, she couldn't.

He ran down to the kitchens in the vague hope that maybe she was there, getting supplies for her journey. Instead, he ran into Galion, who was getting himself some water.

"Galion, have you seen Rolena?" he asked frantically, desperately.

"No, milord, I haven't..." Galion answered, confusion on his face. "Why? Is something wrong?"

He didn't get an answer as Thranduil rushed back upstairs and outside, still wearing little more than a pair of leggings and a tunic. He ran to the stables, praying to the Valar that she was still there. But it was no good. Her horse was gone, and Thranduil knew then and there that Rolena had gone.

He was terrified for her. It was a dangerous journey to make, particularly if you were on your own, particularly at night...

Thranduil ran onto the wall, and looked out over the forest, his eyes vainly searching for any sign of a bay horse with his wife on its back. But it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and he couldn't see her anywhere.

"_ROLENA!_" he screamed out desperately, before collapsing in a sobbing heap on the floor.

"Ada?" came a voice from behind him.

Thranduil looked up, tear tracks staining his face.

"I heard your shouting..." said a very confused Legolas. "What's happened?"

Thranduil remained motionless.

"Ada, what's wrong?" Legolas asked again, a note of urgency mingled with fear slipping into his voice.

Thranduil handed his son the note with shaking hands. Legolas read it quickly, his face expressing the sense of betrayal that he was feeling.

"What-"

"She left us, Legolas," Thranduil sobbed. "She's gone to Valinor."

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do?" Legolas finally asked, not expecting an answer.<p>

They were sitting in the parlour. Galion had put on a roaring fire while Legolas had gone upstairs to wake Era and bring her up to date on the night's events, but nothing could warm the chill that filled them all at the sadness of what had occurred recently.

"I feel like I've lost my Naneth and my brother in the space of a day..." Era said, completely shellshocked.

"That's because you have," Legolas snapped. "And you're not the only one!"

"Well I was just saying it!" Era responded, her voice rising. "You're not the only one who's upset!"

"Try to imagine the guilt that I'm feeling!" Legolas yelled back. "I've lost them both and it was all my fault!"

"ENOUGH!" Thranduil yelled. "It's not doing anyone any good fighting! It's not going to bring her back..."

Era and Legolas both calmed down, and looked sheepish.

"Sorry, Ada," Era said, a sentiment that was echoed by Legolas.

"It's all right," Thranduil replied wearily. "I'm just upset as well..."

Era got up and hugged her father, tears in her eyes, tears of hurt, betrayal, and grief. She looked Thranduil right in the eyes, and suddenly, something clicked into place for Thranduil.

_It was exactly the same expression in her eyes then as had been in the eyes of his attacker._

_The eyes were exactly the same colour._

"Ada?" Era asked, noticing something change in his demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"Those eyes..." Thranduil said eerily. "They are the eyes in my dream..."


	29. Part 2 Chapter 8: No Deed Unpunished

Chapter 8 – No Deed Left Unpunished

"The Royal Family is a disgrace!" screamed Aniriul.

Legolas and Thranduil were sitting in the conference hall, where the advisors were assembled, listening to Aniriul rant, in between cheers of agreement with the young advisor.

"We have a king who is willing to sell his own _son_ for the sake of his palace, an heir who was so stupid that he got himself killed, a flighty queen who will leave her city at the first sign of trouble, a prince who is a monster, and a princess who is a murderer, willing to commit treason!"

Legolas' face became stonier and stonier as he glared at Aniriul, willing him to spontaneously combust. He was outraged at the descriptions of his relatives, but he kept his tongue to prevent any further insults from being bandied around the room.

"I for one," Aniriul shouted, "feel that the Royal Family is no longer fit to rule this city!"

"Well, what do you know, Mr _I-can-stand-up-in-court-and-shout-some-stuff-until-everyone-cheers_," Thranduil muttered derisively, but only so that Legolas could hear him. Legolas was forced to cover his smile with his hand.

"I propose that we, as the advisors of this realm, take over, until such time that we deem the king is fit to rule the realm again!" Aniriul finally finished.

Legolas merely raised his eyebrows.

"Tell me, Aniriul," Thranduil cut in. "Just exactly who would be in charge out of you?"

Aniriul looked confused. "What does that have anything to do with it?"

"Well, with so many of you in charge, you're bound to have a few differences in opinion. How would you resolve the arguments that would inevitably spring from this?"

"We would have a vote," Aniriul replied, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What if it was a stalemate?" Legolas asked. "Who would decide then?"

"We would ask the people."

"The problem with that is that we are at war. Decisions need to be made quickly. Most of the time, you won't have time to ask the people what they want."

"Then we won't make any changes."

"What if a change needs to be made?" Thranduil asked smoothly. "But you're arguing over what change should happen? What will you do then?"

"Ok, I see your point, somebody needs to be in charge. Well, I'd put myself forward."

"So would I," Elleredh said.

And then everyone else nominated themselves to be put in charge.

"You see the problem," Legolas said. "You now have twelve people, all of whom want to run the city. Who would you pick? You can't vote on it, everyone would vote for themselves."

"We would-"

At that point there was an urgent knock on the door. Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Paradhil stepped in, looking guilty at interrupting a very important meeting.

"I'm sorry, but this really can't wait," Paradhil said. "Could I please speak to the King in private?"

Thranduil got gracefully to his feet, while Paradhil meekly apologised to a furious Aniriul. As the door banged shut behind them, Legolas clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on the table. He leant forward and placed his chin atop his clasped hands.

"Well?" Legolas prompted Aniriul. "Go on then. _Impress _me."

* * *

><p>Thranduil let out a sigh as the door shut behind them.<p>

"What's wrong?" Paradhil asked.

"Oh, where to start... My son's dead, my wife's left me, my daughter's in prison, awaiting a trial where she will be charged with treason, and now my advisors are trying to usurp me."

"Well..." Paradhil looked hesitant. "This is actually about your wife."

"Really? Have you found her?" Thranduil's face lit up at the prospect.

"No."

Thranduil looked like a child who had had his favourite toy taken from him.

"We found her horse."

Thranduil blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Dead."

The Elvenking felt a feeling of terror rise up inside his throat.

"We found it after it had been killed by orcish arrows. It was still completely laden with all the supplies."

"And Rolena?" Thranduil asked, dreading the answer.

"No sign of her, milord, except..."

"Except what?"

"Except blood. Elvish blood. On the leaves."

Thranduil shut his eyes, trying not to let tears fall.

"I'm sorry, milord. We will keep looking for her, but..."

"But there isn't much hope." Thranduil's voice nearly died in his throat.

"No, milord."

"Have you found the bodies of the others?"

"You mean Carevil, Linton and Oridion?" Paradhil asked. "Not yet, sire."

"Keep looking for them. There is still hope that they'll be found."

"Of course, milord."

At that point, the raised voice of Aniriul came echoing through the door.

"Sounds like you're needed in there," Paradhil replied, trying to crack a smile, but failing. "If you don't mind, I'd better go..."

"Of course. Go."

Thranduil opened the door to find Aniriul screaming about what an incompetent leader he was to a furious Legolas, who was on his feet, glaring daggers at the advisor. The other advisors looked amused by this showdown, and nobody noticed him enter.

"What on _earth_ is going on?" Thranduil's voice boomed out over the room, halting Aniriul's rant.

"This little idiot has just spent the best part of five minutes insulting you!" Legolas muttered through gritted teeth.

"Last time I checked, freedom of expression was legal in this realm!" Aniriul yelled.

"Be that as it may, my father is still king, and seeing as how your job lies in the hands of that, you would do well to respect him!"

"What are you going to do?" Aniriul yelled. "Blind me and then throw me off the city walls?"

"How dare you-"

"Legolas, sit down!" Thranduil interrupted.

Legolas' gaze never left Aniriul's. "Fine," he growled, his eyes flashing.

"Right, now where were we? Ah yes-"

The door opened again, and Paradhil walked in.

"Paradhil, do you have an obsession with interrupting meetings?" Thranduil asked him. "What is it this time?"

"Your highness..." Paradhil stuttered. "You really need to see this."

"What is it?"

"Just come and look outside."

Thranduil and Legolas exchanged confused glances, before following Paradhil out into the courtyard.

Mordor's forces had surrounded them again, and this time, it seemed that they had doubled in size. Five figures were standing at the gate, calling out for the Elvenking to come.

Thranduil rode out with Legolas and was greeted by the Witch-King of Angmar, the Mouth of Sauron, who was wearing a helmet that completely covered his eyes and disfigured face, save his mouth, and three orcish standard-bearers. Legolas felt a sense of grim satisfaction as he noted the state that the Mouth was in.

"We have killed your crown prince," the Witch-King said, anger in his voice as his eyes fell on Legolas. "We have killed your queen. These are your options: you can surrender Mirkwood unto us in which case most of your people will die, or we will take it by force, in which case _all_ of your people will die."

Legolas laughed derisively. "I proved to you fifteen years ago that you could not control me. You never could and you never will, just like you will never control the people of this realm. You tried. For seven hundred and fifty years, you tried. But listen closely to what I'm about to tell you, because this is the most important thing you will hear today. You never once succeeded."


	30. Part 2 Chapter 9: Born To Follow

******A/N: Sorry it's been a while since the last update, no, I haven't died, I've just been in France and cut off from the internet. Good news is that it gave me plenty of time for writing this and I think I've finally finished it...**

Chapter 9 – We Weren't Born To Follow

The Witch-King looked furious at this remark, and, spluttering indignantly, decided to ride back, followed by the Mouth and the three standard-bearers. Legolas smirked as his father turned around, and Legolas had to follow.

Legolas galloped back up to the palace, where Paradhil was waiting.

"So," Paradhil said expectantly. "What's the plan?"

"Station archers and catapults on the walls. They won't engage in hand to hand combat at first, they'll try shooting us down. When they do charge, which they inevitably will, the infantry and cavalry go out and meet them. Station a smaller select group behind the gates as a back-up, and shut the gates as soon as the first group go out. We can't risk them coming in."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then I'll make up something else." Legolas smiled at Paradhil.

-:-

Another volley of arrows flew from the walls, hitting the front line of orcs. The creatures collapsed to the ground, but the line behind them merely stepped over their bodies.

"Fire!" Legolas yelled to the people manning the catapults.

The wooden structures moved, and stones soared in graceful arcs. Some hit the siege towers, some hit Mordor's own catapults, and some just crashed over the orcs. However, all of the stones hit something.

Legolas ran down the stairs to where Oresor was waiting. Mounting quickly, he rode towards the gate. Assembled there were large numbers of elves, all of whom were looking scared at what lay beyond that gate. As soon as Legolas appeared, everyone turned their scared expressions to him, with a glimmer of expectation in their eyes.

Legolas rode out in front of them, standing between them and the gates. "All right, listen up!" he shouted out over the noise outside the city. "All of you are terrified. I can see that. But you have no reason to fear. Because this is our land, and freedom is ours by right. Sauron's armies have no claim to this city. We weren't born to follow their lead into a world of darkness, and that is certainly not what we will do now. We were born free, and we will live free. We will not serve them. We will not be slaves to the Dark Lord. So I bid you, people of Greenwood, when these gates open, to show this group of despicable creatures just what we think of them!"

As he finished his spiel, he nodded towards the elves who stood on the wall above the gates. The two giant doors opened and Legolas led the charge out into the forest. Or what was left of it, anyway. The orcs had burnt most of the trees that surrounded the city, and cut down the rest.

The army rode out at full speed to meet with the mass of orcs. There was a giant clash as green met with black, and within seconds of the gates being opened, the organised elves had fallen into complete chaos.

Legolas found it impossible to keep track of anything except his knives. He had tried to keep an eye on Paradhil, but they had become separated about fifteen seconds after the battle had begun.

An orc ran towards him, sword raised, but Legolas cut him quite literally in half with his knives. He span, beheading another orc that was right behind him. Oresor suddenly reared up unexpectedly, and Legolas couldn't hold on, and fell backwards as the black stallion bolted.

Another orc ran towards him, with the intention of sticking the very long bloodstained spear that it was carrying into the Prince of Mirkwood's chest, but Legolas deflected the stick with one knife while swinging his other across the creature's stomach. Black blood splashed across his face and the creature collapsed, its intestines decorating the ground it fell on.

Legolas finally got to his feet, and thrust his sword into an orc's back as said orc tried to go for the kill of a young elf on the ground. A different orc tried to attack Legolas from behind, and it might have worked, had it not decided to scream something along the lines of: 'Die, you stupid prince.' Legolas spun his knives around and thrust them behind his back, so both blades landed in the orc's stomach. Wrenching them out, he span around with his arms outstretched, taking the staggering orc's head from its neck. The skull hit the floor before the body.

Suddenly, a resounding thud echoed out across the battlefield. Legolas turned back towards the city, and saw that some orcs were trying to break down the gates with a battering ram.

"Protect the gates!" he shouted to everyone around him.

Arrows whistled through the air, all focused on the orcs operating the giant metal block that was shaped like a warg. However, not all met their mark, because unlike atop the city walls, orcs and elves alike kept getting in between the arrows and their targets. Legolas tried his best to get the attention of those on the walls, but they were slightly more occupied with the fact that siege ladders had been set up while Legolas and everyone else had been focused on keeping themselves alive outside the city. All elves were trained in both archery and swordsmanship, but naturally, some were better in one field than the other.

Cursing Oresor, or at least the absence of him, Legolas ran back towards the gates, cutting down every orc that got in his way. There he found Paradhil, engaged in combat with some of the orcs protecting the battering ram, along with a group of elves.

A second crash resounded over the battlefield. Legolas sliced open the throat of one of the orcs that stood in his way, before rushing towards the battering ram. By now, the elves atop the walls had realised the gravity of the situation and were shooting down at the battering ram. However, these orcs had been armoured better than the others, and most of the arrows were bouncing off the helmets and chainmail that they were wearing. Looking up at the wall, and the exact position that they were in, Legolas suddenly had an idea.

"Paradhil!" Legolas called. "Get yourself and your soldiers away from the gates!"

"But my lord!" Paradhil began to protest at the prince's seeming madness.

"Trust me," Legolas shouted over the din. "I have an idea!"

Legolas ran along the wall to where a siege ladder stood, and practically flew up it, fuelled by all the adrenaline that he had due to the battle and his new idea. By pure luck nobody had shot it down while he was climbing, as they had done with many others. Beheading one of the orcs that stood at the top, he leapt over the battlements and cut down the rope holding the ladder in place, before kicking it, sending about fifty orcs to their deaths as they were crushed under the now-useless pile of wood and metal. He ran back towards the gate where a group of elves were shooting down on those holding a battering ram and demanded that somebody run to the nearest place that would sell it and bring him back two to three barrels of lantern oil, and maybe a cauldron too while they were at it. They looked slightly bemused by this but four elves left.

Meanwhile Legolas threw the torches that were on the wall into a small pile on the floor, and pretty soon there was a roaring fire. The four elves returned, three of them carrying barrels and one carrying a cauldron. Legolas ordered that they put the oil into the cauldron and the cauldron onto the fire. When the oil was practically boiling (which took a surprisingly short amount of time), Legolas checked below, where the orcs were still trying to break down the gates.

"So what now?" asked the elf who had carried the cauldron.

"Now," Legolas said, smiling, "we do _this!_"

He kicked the cauldron over the battlements and onto the orcs. The creatures of Sauron screamed as they were soaked in the boiling liquid, and Legolas picked up one of the torches which hadn't entirely burnt at one end, and threw it off the wall. The oil ignited and the orcs dropped the battering ram, and ran screaming from the gate.

It was then that they heard an orc horn ring out over the battlefield, and suddenly all the orcs, burning or otherwise, ran back towards the forest. A few elves on the walls sent parting shots in their direction, but Legolas couldn't understand it. _Why were they retreating?_

"VICTORY!" screamed one of the elves on the wall triumphantly.

Legolas watched as all the elves on the battlefield marvel at their surprising win, he watched as the orcs ran back into the forest. And all the time, all he was ever wondering was: _why?_

-:-

That evening, he met up with Paradhil on the battlefield, who was walking towards him with Oresor.

"Well that was lucky," Paradhil said, although he couldn't contain his broad grin. "I thought we were as good as dead."

"I don't understand it though," Legolas said, confusion etched in every line on his face. "They had about ten times our numbers."

"But we had the better fighters," Paradhil said. "Numbers don't necessarily win a war."

"But from what I gathered, Sauron never retreats. Why did he do so now?"

"Because we had you," Paradhil replied, looking at Legolas with renewed admiration. "This victory... It was all down to you."

"I don't think that this is over..." Legolas said, his voice heavy.

"Will you stop being so pessimistic for once and look on the bright side? We won! Sauron's forces have pulled back to Dol Guldur where they belong!"

"But what about all those who died today? What about Ithilas? What about my mother? What about Linton, Carevil and Oridion?"

"Songs will be sung of them for thousands of years to come."

"Songs will not help the dead."

"And nor will your pessimistic attitude. Now come back into the city and let's drink all the Dorwinian wine we can lay our hands on while we still have something to celebrate."

Legolas cast a glance back over the battlefield, before following Paradhil back into the city, where the people chanted his name, assuring everyone for miles around that this victory was down to him.


	31. Part 2 Chapter 10: Taken To Trial

Chapter 10 – Taken To Trial

_One week later..._

"Era Thranduillieth of the House of Oropher, you have been brought before this court to stand trial for your accused crimes of treason," Aniriul said to all those present. "Specifically the crime of attacking King Thranduil of the House of Oropher, the first of his name. If you are found guilty then by our law you must be sentenced to death or permanent exile. Do you understand?"

Legolas watched the events unfold from near the back of the throne room. He had spent the past four days dreading this date and pleading with Thranduil not to take this to trial, but the truth was it was out of his hands. The House of Oropher may have regained some of its credibility with their victory in battle, but the Council still held very little respect for Thranduil. And so Legolas' pleas had fallen on deaf ears.

An unbiased jury would decide whether Era was innocent or guilty. However, the simple fact was that there was no such thing as an unbiased jury any more. The media had painted Era as a black-hearted murdering traitor, driven insane by the loss of her brother. It was conveniently overlooked that at the time that the crime was committed, Era had had both of her brothers living under the same roof as her.

Thranduil was sitting on his throne, and he would be the one passing the sentence. Legolas had pleaded for Thranduil, should the trial take place and Era was found guilty, to pass a lesser sentence. He couldn't bear to lose his sister now.

When Era nodded, the trial commenced. Witnesses were brought forward to testify to several events of that day, including many important servants in the palace, Thranduil, Paradhil, and Era herself. Finally, Legolas was called forward.

"Your Highness, would you please tell us in your own words what happened that day?" Aniriul asked him.

Legolas, however, was in no mood to advance this trial.

"Well, I woke up before sunrise, which was fairly usual at that point. I got out of bed, and had an interesting conversation with Galion in the kitchens. I believe we were talking about the quality of the food at the feast the night before. Anyway, we were interrupted by my nephew, Aios, who had come down for a drink. He started commenting on-"

"Would you please skip to the relevant information?"

"Relevant?" Legolas asked, putting on a mock-bemused voice. "You mean to this trial? Oh, you should have said!" He tutted at Aniriul. "Honestly, how was I supposed to know what you wanted?"

Era, Thranduil, and multiple members of the jury snickered. Aniriul glared at Legolas, who smiled sweetly back.

When the various laughs had died down, Aniriul nodded at Legolas to continue.

"Well, my father and I had argued the night before, and the following morning everyone was angry at somebody. That morning-"

"And who were you angry with?"

"I was angry with my father."

"And do you recall who Era was angry with?"

"Well, I believe she was angry at my brother and father."

"Why was she angry at your father?"

"Because she had just found out that my father was, in her eyes, responsible for my imprisonment many years ago."

"Surely you should have been more angry than her?"

"True, I don't doubt that I was possibly more angry than her, but that does not mean that she had no right to be furious," Legolas shot back, his cool facade beginning to crumble, giving way to the anger that was beginning to show.

"Ok, so where were you at the time of the attack? I don't believe we got to that point."

"I was with the two sons of Lord Elrond of Imladris. My brother, Ithilas, came and found me and demanded that I come and see something. He led me to my father's study and opened the door, but my father was lying on the floor, as though dead. Ithilas told me to get help, so I left the room and shouted until someone came running."

"Can anyone confirm your story?"

"Well Galion was the first person to arrive, so he could confirm the last part of the story."

"And the rest of it?"

"Well, I imagine that Ithilas would probably confirm it if he was here, and Elladan and Elrohir of the House of Elrond would be able to confirm it too. Unfortunately, my brother's dead and the twin sons of Elrond are currently in Imladris, which isn't all that convenient."

"So all we have to go on is your word, and given recent events your word may not be all that reliable."

"Excuse me, what exactly have I done that makes my word unreliable? I may not keep the most civil tongue but I have never done anything that has compromised my integrity!" Legolas snapped, his temper rising.

"Members of the jury, what we see here is somebody whose reputation is violent and bloody-"

"But _not _untrustworthy!" interjected Legolas, his cool demeanour replaced by one of ire.

"-and whose sense of honour was warped during his long imprisonment in the Black Lands!" continued Aniriul, his voice matching Legolas'. "We have heard from his own mouth that he was angry at his father, and yet his sister stands here accused of crimes-"

"Aniriul, that is enough," Thranduil cut in. "You've made your point but if my words still carry any weight whatsoever then let me assure you that it was definitely not my son who attacked me."

Aniriul looked like he wished to say something in response to that, but the glare that Thranduil gave him made him think better of it.

"Very well. Sit down, Prince Legolas."

Legolas cast a scathing look at Aniriul but headed back to his seat nonetheless.

"It appears we have several key witnesses missing," Aniriul said, his eyes falling onto Era, his expression cool and sceptical. "How convenient."

"Well, what would you like me to do about it?" Era responded scathingly.

Thranduil stood up and faced the jury. "Members of the jury," he said emotionlessly. "You have heard all the evidence relevant to this trial, and I now ask you to come to a decision as to whether Era Thranduillieth is innocent or guilty. Those who think she is guilty, please raise your hand."

As one, every single member of the jury raised their right hand. Legolas buried his face in his hands, desperately trying to contain his sadness. He didn't raise his head to see those who thought her innocent.

Thranduil sat down and faced Era. "Era Thranduillieth, you were tried and hereby are found guilty of treason. I sentence you to permanent exile, to return on pain of death."

Voices broke out across the stands, mutterings about the verdict.

"Ada, please!" Era ran forward, only to be restrained by guards, tears in her eyes, as she looked up pleadingly at Thranduil. Thranduil looked back at her, his eyes also glazed with tears, but the expression on his face was one of hurt and betrayal.

"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly, so only Era could hear him. "But you hurt me in a way that I cannot forgive. I... I just can't let that slide."

He looked out over the stands, his eyes seeking Legolas. Legolas met his gaze, his expression mirroring the one that Thranduil had worn while looking at Era. He shook his head, before leaving the courtroom.


	32. Part 2 Chapter 11: Not Anymore

Chapter 11 – Not Anymore

Thranduil chased after Legolas out of the courtroom, desperate for a chance to explain. He caught up with him in the corridor, but Legolas wasn't even going to look at him.

"Legolas, please, wait! Please!"

Legolas carried on walking, his expression stony.

"Legolas!" Thranduil grabbed his arm and tried to turn him around.

"Why?" Legolas finally snapped, feeling that if the conversation was going to happen, it would be best to make it last as short a time as possible. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't have a choice-"

"You didn't have a choice?" Legolas repeated incredulously. "Of course you had a choice! There's always a choice! And you chose to _exile_ her!"

"Listen-"

"No, _you_ listen! She was your own _daughter,_ and you threw her out of her own home! Why?"

"Legolas, she really hurt me." Thranduil finally got a word in. "You said so yourself, she was my own daughter, and she tried to _kill_ me! How do you think that made me feel?"

"She only attacked you because she was angry about what happened to me! If I can forgive you for that, then you can forgive her for this!"

"If it's any consolation, it hurt me passing that sentence as it hurt you to hear it."

"Then why did you pass it?"

"I didn't have a choice! The Council were going to overthrow me as it was!"

"And so you let a bunch of petty bureaucrats influence your decision more than your love for your own _daughter?_ For the Valar's sake, overturn this sentence or I'm leaving with her!"

"You don't mean that..." Thranduil said quietly.

"Oh, I do. You have hurt me one too many times for me to call you my father any more. This is it."

"Legolas, please, don't!"

"Then overturn the sentence!"

"You know I can't do that-"

"You've forced me to choose: my sister or my father. And to be quite honest, Era wins without even trying. You are not my father. Not anymore."

"_Legolas!_" Thranduil called desperately after his son's retreating back.

Legolas turned at the end of the corridor. "Goodbye, Thranduil."


	33. Part 2 Chapter 12: Persuasion

Chapter 12 – Persuasion

_20 days later..._

Glorfindel heard the steady hoof beats in the courtyard and ran out to see two horses, one black, one white, and watched as their riders dismounted. He recognised one as the daughter of the Elvenking, and the other as someone who he had not believed was alive when Elrohir had told him otherwise.

Glorfindel was followed out by Erestor, who stood as speechless as the seneschal for a minute, before finally recovering the use of his tongue.

"Master... Master Legolas..." Erestor said to the younger of the two princes of Mirkwood. "We... we did not believe Elladan and Elrohir when they told us of your survival..."

"Well, you should have," Era snapped shortly as she walked up to Erestor, and promptly dropped the reins of her horse in his hands.

"We haven't received any news from Mirkwood for many years," Glorfindel finally managed to say. "Not since Elladan and Elrohir returned."

"We've been at war for a long time," Legolas replied grimly. "Too long."

At that point, they were interrupted by Elladan and Elrohir riding into the courtyard after them.

"Legolas! Era!" Elrohir exclaimed as they saw them standing there. The pair rushed forwards to embrace their friends, before Elrohir glared at Glorfindel.

"See, I _told _you he was alive!" he snapped playfully.

Glorfindel raised his hands in a defensive gesture. "Yes, I can see that..."

"Are we expecting a visit from Master Ithilas any time soon?" Erestor cut in.

Legolas gave the advisor a cold glance. "My brother is dead," he said harshly. "He was killed in the summer trying to save my life."

The six of them fell into an awkward silence, until Elladan finally decided to break it.

"I... I'm sorry..."

"Not your fault," Legolas said shortly. "You weren't to know. You weren't the one who slashed his throat before cutting him into pieces..."

The four Imladrian elves exchanged confused glances, none of them really knowing what to say.

Era decided to change the subject. "May we see Lord Elrond? Only... I have something to ask him."

"He's... Well... he's..." Glorfindel was still completely shellshocked that he was never to see Ithilas again. "He's been busy ever since a Halfling was brought in after he was stabbed by one of the Nine. However, I believe that the Halfling woke this morning. There will be a feast this afternoon, at which Lord Elrond will no doubt be present."

"Thank you, but I believe the request cannot wait." Legolas said. "Where is he now?"

* * *

><p>Legolas and Era were standing in the beautiful hall where Elrond was to meet them. Sure enough, the Imladrian Lord swept into the hall, only to stop dead at the sight of Legolas. Legolas was beginning to get a bit sick of this constant reaction.<p>

"My Lord Elrond," Era said, echoed by Legolas, who had a note of reluctance as he said the title.

"So my sons weren't lying then," Elrond said, smiling, as he surveyed Legolas. "You really did survive."

Legolas glared back, longing to tell the Noldor elf exactly what he thought of him, but Era nudged him.

"We wish to ask something of you," she said calmly, turning her eyes onto Elrond.

"And what would that be?"

"Well..." Era wasn't entirely sure how to broach the subject.

"My father and I had an argument, and following that I left Mirkwood, with no intention to return," Legolas said quickly.

"Why did you have an argument?" Elrond asked, confused.

"He banished me," Era cut in. "Because apparently his precious title is more important than his own children."

"I'm sorry?" Elrond said, incomprehension on his features.

"Well, he sold Legolas, I got angry at him and attacked him, he forgot for fifteen years, my brother died, the funeral caused him to remember, I got tried for treason and was found guilty, Legolas forced him into an ultimatum, we left."

Elrond possibly looked even more confused than before.

"Oh, and the Council threatened to take control of Mirkwood because Legolas lost his temper with somebody, and my mother ran off into the night."

Elrond blinked. "Erm... never mind... I don't think I particularly need to know..."

"In short, everyone in Mirkwood is unhappy with the monarchy and we are now homeless," Legolas said finally. "And, much as it pains me to ask you this, and believe me, it does, could we please stay here indefinitely?"

Elrond's expression became one of pity as he heard this. He had heard from Elladan and Elrohir that Legolas partially blamed him for what had happened all those years ago, but he felt that Thranduil's descendants had already been through far more than they should have. They didn't deserve to go through any more pain.

"You may," he finally said. "I'll have Erestor set up some rooms for you."

Era breathed a sigh of relief, and Legolas allowed a reluctant smile to grace his lips. The pair turned to leave.

"But Legolas," Elrond called after him.

Legolas looked over his shoulder.

"There will be a council tomorrow, and I'd like you to be there."

"Of course," Legolas nodded.

* * *

><p>"You cannot be serious," Legolas all but snarled.<p>

It had taken all his effort not to storm out of that council. He had understood what Elrond was asking him to do, but he would not accompany this Halfling into Mordor, he could not go back there. And yet here he was, standing in the hall with Elrond after a second Halfling had demanded that if the first Halfling was going to go to Mordor then he would go too, and Elrond had finally asked him outright if he would accompany them.

"Legolas, please! Your knowledge is invaluable to this quest!"

"Forget it, Elrond! I'm not doing it!"

"Legolas, you are the only person in all of Middle Earth who has been inside Mordor and got out alive."

"I got in through the front gate and out by falling off of it."

"Please will you reconsider? It's not like it's just going to be you and the Hobbits!"

"Elrond, I am not going back there, and that's final!"

"Legolas, I'm begging you. Do you want me to grovel? Because I will if that's what it takes!"

"You can save yourself the trouble, because I won't go!"

Legolas turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. He couldn't believe that Elrond had actually thought that he would go back. Elrond could take that idea and –

"Are you all right?" asked a voice, interrupting his thoughts.

Legolas turned and saw another Halfling, with short curly brown hair. He couldn't help but marvel at the sheer number of them that there were in Imladris.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Legolas replied calmly.

"You looked angry."

Legolas sighed, before sitting down beside the Halfling. "Yes, all right, I'm furious," he finally conceded.

"Who with?"

Legolas raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to go into this now?"

"Why not?" he said happily. "I have time."

"Ok, where to start... I'm angry at my father, because he decided that in order to save his position he exiled my sister, I'm angry at Lord Elrond because he has had the excellent idea to send me back to Mordor, this time accompanying somebody carrying the Ring of Power, and I don't think I could bear to go back there, and I'm just generally angry with Sauron because he managed to ruin my entire life."

"Hold on... what? Start from the beginning."

And so Legolas told the Halfling everything that had happened since he was taken by Sauron. The Halfling listened attentively, interjecting occasionally with questions that Legolas answered, and by the end, the Halfling was looking at him as though he was some kind of deity.

"Wow... And so you left home with your sister, came here, and now Elrond's asking you for your help?"

"When you say it, it sounds so much simpler," Legolas laughed.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you should go."

"You do?"

The Halfling nodded. "Put it this way. Going back to Mordor would give you a chance to avenge your mother, your brother and yourself. Anyway, whoever's taking the Ring will definitely want you on their side."

Legolas glanced at him. "I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again?"

"Pippin!" called another voice before he got an answer.

The Halfling looked up, and so did Legolas, to see yet another Halfling walk towards them.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" said the other Halfling. "Come on, Gandalf wants to talk to us.

The first Halfling, who Legolas assumed was called Pippin, got up, but before he left, Pippin turned around and spoke to Legolas again.

"Just... Just think about it. Please."

The Halflings turned and left.

Legolas watched the retreating backs of the hobbits, and thought about what Pippin had said. Yes, he was scared, but so was Frodo, and Frodo would be the one carrying the Ring. Was he going to sit here in Rivendell, hiding away, a coward, while his brother's death went unpunished? Was that what he was?

He had very little he would leave behind. He had already severed all ties with his father, with his homeland. He would never return to Mirkwood. He would never concern himself with her business. He would never hear that the bodies of Carevil, Linton, Oridion, and Queen Rolena were never found. He would never hear how, a month after his departure, the siege was renewed and the city was destroyed. He would never learn that, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't have cared. The only thing he would leave behind would be his sister. But she would want him to go to destroy the Ring. Maybe with the Ring he could finally avenge everything bad that had happened. Maybe with the Ring he could bring justice to those who had torn his family into pieces.

Maybe with the Ring he could make things right.


	34. Epilogue

Epilogue

_A month later..._

The Fellowship was seated around a campfire, talking about what was probably going on in their homelands.

As Legolas stared into the fire, he did not know that the same thing that was keeping him warm was raging through the city where he had been born and raised.

-:-

Thranduil was seated on his throne, motionless, while the palace burnt around him.

-:-

"Legolas, I don't imagine that the Elvenking would be particularly happy with his son deciding to go back to Mordor," Gimli said. "What do you think he's doing now?"

"I don't know, and to be perfectly honest, I don't care," Legolas snapped, more harshly than he'd intended.

-:-

"Your Highness, we have to leave!" yelled Paradhil as he ran into the throne room. "The city is overrun! We have to get out of here!"

Thranduil remained seated, but raised his head. Paradhil saw tears streaming down his face.

-:-

"Why don't you care? He's your father," Sam asked incredulously.

"King Thranduil is _not_ my father!" Legolas snapped.

-:-

Thranduil finally uttered something. "My son... he hates me. I made so many mistakes with him... and now he's gone..."

-:-

"He relinquished any claim he had to that title when he exiled my sister!"

-:-

"Your Highness, we have to go!" Paradhil screamed, urgently. "_Now!_"

-:-

"I don't want to see him ever again," Legolas snarled, much to the surprise of the Fellowship.

-:-

Thranduil shook his head, the tear tracks on his face turning orange as they caught the firelight.

"_Your Highness!_" Paradhil screamed desperately.

-:-

"Legolas, isn't that a little harsh?" Boromir asked. "Whatever mistakes he made, surely you can forgive him for them? I mean, he _is_ your father."

-:-

Thranduil didn't so much as flinch as the doors flew open, and the Witch-King of Angmar came in, followed by two dozen orcs, who instantly split up and ran around the palace. Thranduil didn't so much as blink when the Witch-King grabbed Paradhil by the hair and slit his throat.

-:-

"A _father_ does not sell his son to save his kingdom. A _father_ does not exile his own daughter for the sake of a crown." Legolas snapped. "Thranduil was no father."

An orc threw Thranduil onto the floor. He landed on all fours at the Witch-King's feet.

-:-

"Right now, I couldn't care less if he dropped dead!" Legolas finished, his voice as harsh as the Witch-King's laugh.

-:-

Thranduil could have sworn he heard his son's voice as he stared up into the face of death.

"Oh Legolas..." he sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p><em>Legolas never returned to Mirkwood. Even after the Ring was destroyed, he decided to remain in Ithillien. He never heard about his father's death until he sailed to Valinor with Gimli, and he never returned to see the wreck of the forest that he had once loved. And he never forgave Thranduil, or the advisors who had influenced his father's decision, and even after Sauron's destruction, he never felt that justice had truly been done, because some wounds just run too deep, and damage can't be undone, and the past can't be changed. And revenge doesn't bring peace, revenge doesn't fix everything, revenge doesn't make everything go back to the way it was.<em>

_Because even the greatest person can't change the past._

**THE END**


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